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US Army Creates Single Vaccine Against All COVID & SARS Variants, Researchers Say — Within weeks, Walter Reed researchers expect to announce that human trials show success against Omicron—and even future strains. — Within weeks, scientists at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research expect …
Discussion:
Raw Story and Washington Examiner


McConnell to Manchin: We'd Love to Have You, Joe — Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, says Democratic outrage over Senator Joe Manchin's opposition to sweeping policy bills shows he is not welcome in his party any longer. — WASHINGTON — Senator Mitch McConnell is extending …
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POLITICO Playbook: Schumer and Manchin face off on Zoom
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal and Daily Kos

Corporate donations to Sen. Joe Manchin's PAC surged as he fought President Biden's agenda
Discussion:
The Intercept and Insider

Were Progressives Right About Joe Manchin?
Discussion:
The Conservative Wahoo, The Bulwark, The Dispatch, Daily Mail, New York Times, Townhall, Slate and UnHerd

Joe Manchin Said Constituent Complained Of ‘Crackhead Daughter’ Wasting Child Tax Credit
Discussion:
New York Magazine, Washington Post and The National Interest

Texas Sen. Cornyn joins Republicans recruiting Joe Manchin to GOP
Discussion:
Insider, Wall Street Journal, Four Freedoms, National Review, New York Post, Washington Post, Mediaite and The Hill


Omicron Has 80% Lower Risk of Hospitalization, New Study Shows — Once admitted, risk of severe disease is the same: NICD data — Compared to delta, odds of severe omicron disease is 70% lower — South Africans contracting Covid-19 in the current fourth wave of infections …
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Early assessment of the clinical severity of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in South Africa — Nicole Wolter, Waasila Jassat, Sibongile Walaza, Richard Welch, Harry Moultrie, Michelle Groome, Daniel Gyamfi Amoako, Josie Everatt, Jinal N Bhiman, Cathrine Scheepers, Naume Tebeila, Nicola Chiwandire …
Discussion:
The Atlantic, Washington Examiner, NICD and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Despite Evidence, Walensky Refuses To Call Omicron ‘Mild’ In Interview With Fox's Bret Baier
Discussion:
KDFX-TV


Biden's COVID culpability — In its never-ending race to stay ahead of the coronavirus, the Biden administration keeps falling behind. — Why it matters: The U.S. is facing an overwhelming surge of cases driven by the Omicron variant less than six months after President Biden celebrated …
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, CBS News and The Intercept
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Omicron Will Surge Despite Biden's New Plan, Scientists Say — Public health experts fear that the highly contagious variant cannot be stopped without harsh measures that the public will no longer tolerate. — Even as President Biden on Tuesday outlined new plans for battling …
Discussion:
CBS News, CNN, Politico, Alexander COVID News, Wide World of News and Alternet.org

Biden delivers a double dose of ineptitude as COVID, BBB bedevil his presidency
Discussion:
The Daily Wire and Ground Truths


John Thune, a Likely Successor to Mitch McConnell, Weighs Retirement — Mr. Thune, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, is considering giving up his South Dakota seat because of both family concerns and Donald Trump's enduring hold on the G.O.P. — WASHINGTON — Senator John Thune of South Dakota …
Discussion:
Fox News, New York Magazine and Zandar Versus The Stupid


Susan Collins is open to a revived push to overhaul an expiring child tax credit — After a key setback to President Joe Biden's spending agenda, U.S. Sen. Susan Collins signaled openness on Tuesday to an effort that would overhaul a child tax credit set to expire in January if Congress does not act.
Discussion:
People's Policy Project, The Hill, Talking Points Memo, Daily Kos, HotAir, Instapundit and Politico
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The F.B.I. Deployed Surveillance Teams Inside Portland Protests — Federal agents infiltrated Portland's unruly racial justice protests, dressing to blend in and capturing clandestine video. The tactics raised internal concern. — PORTLAND, Ore. — In the hours after President Biden's inauguration …


Michael Flynn sues Jan. 6 committee — Michael Flynn, Donald Trump's former national security adviser, is suing to prevent the Jan. 6 select committee from enforcing a subpoena for his testimony and documents, claiming it could violate multiple privileges, including his Fifth Amendment right …
Discussion:
CNN, CNN, The Guardian, Fox News, The Daily Beast, Washington Examiner, CBS News, NBC News, Jihad Watch, Raw Story, New York Times, Reuters, CBS News, TheBlaze, Metro.co.uk, Raw Story, HuffPost, UPI, Political Wire, Washington Times, Conservative Brief and Insider


Booming U.S. Economy Ripples World-Wide — Surging American demand draws investment from overseas with supply chains working to keep pace and driving up prices — FRANKFURT—A booming U.S. economy is rippling around the world, leaving global supply chains struggling to keep up and pushing up prices.
Discussion:
HBR.org, Balloon Juice and The Big Picture


This Scientist Created a Rapid Test Just Weeks Into the Pandemic. Here's Why You Still Can't Get It. — Irene Bosch developed a quick, inexpensive COVID-19 test in early 2020. The Harvard-trained scientist already had a factory set up. But she was stymied by an FDA process experts say made no sense.
Discussion:
Marginal REVOLUTION and Chicago Tribune


Omicron Is the Beginning of the End — No matter the severity of the variant, the appetite for shutdowns or other large-scale social interventions simply isn't there. — About the author: Yascha Mounk is a contributing writer at The Atlantic, an associate professor at Johns Hopkins University …


Hope Hicks, other Trump alums join hedge-fund exec's Senate camp — Hedge fund executive David McCormick is expected to launch his Pennsylvania Senate candidacy with the help of former top advisers to former President Donald Trump. — The list includes Trump White House veteran Hope Hicks.
Discussion:
Raw Story


Trump ‘very appreciative’ and ‘surprised’ Biden acknowledged his administration's COVID vaccine success — In an exclusive interview with Fox News, Trump said Biden's comment would help the ‘process of healing’ — Biden pressed on COVID testing availability
Discussion:
Mediaite, CNN, Raw Story, Breitbart, Reuters, Boston Herald, New York Post, Twitchy, Washington Examiner, New Republic, RedState and Politico


I did everything Biden told me to do. On Friday, I tested positive for COVID-19 — I was a supporter of wearing masks in public. I received both doses of the Moderna vaccine and encouraged my friends and family members to do the same. I started a community campaign to assist people …


Criminals have stolen nearly $100 billion in Covid relief funds, Secret Service says — Criminals have stolen close to $100 billion in pandemic relief funds, the U.S. Secret Service said Tuesday. — The stolen funds were diverted by fraudsters from the Small Business Administration's …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion and UPI


Why Christmas Gifts Are Arriving on Time This Year — Fears that a disrupted supply chain could wreak havoc on the logistics industry over the holiday turned out to be wrong as many Americans ordered early and shopped in stores. — The warnings started to stream in early this fall: Shop early or you may not get your gifts on time.


Biden Justice Department reverses on returning federal convicts on home detention to prison — Under intense pressure from criminal justice reform advocates, the Justice Department has reversed a Trump-era legal opinion that could have required several thousand federal convicts to return …
Discussion:
Reason, Breitbart, Washington Post, CNN and Fox News
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Exclusive: U.N. proposing paying nearly $6 million to Taliban for security — The United Nations is proposing to pay nearly $6 million for protection in Afghanistan to Taliban-run Interior Ministry personnel, whose chief is under U.N. and U.S. sanctions and wanted by the FBI …


Long before embracing Trump's false election claims, Rep. Scott Perry promoted groundless theories — Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) has been fanning false claims for years, long before his efforts to overturn the 2020 election based on former president Donald Trump's baseless allegations drew …
Discussion:
Letters from an American, HuffPost, Associated Press and NBC Boston


Fox News Stands by Jesse Watters After ‘Kill Shot’ Remark While Fauci Wants Him Fired — Fox News has backed host Jesse Watters after Dr. Anthony Fauci said that he should be fired for urging conservatives to “ambush” him and “go in for the kill shot.” — Watters on Monday urged attendees …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Mediaite and Deadline


Democratic push on voting rights becomes more urgent as midterms approach — But passing a measure to outlaw partisan gerrymandering could cause a new kind of chaos — Senate Democrats not only failed to push their social spending bill over the finish line before the Christmas holidays.
Discussion:
Fox News, Politico, Los Angeles Times, Digby's Hullabaloo, New Republic and The Guardian

Librarian who made third-graders reenact the Holocaust was a fraud convict in N.J. — The Watkins Elementary School staffer who directed third-graders to reenact scenes from the Holocaust on Friday was convicted of two crimes in New Jersey. The staffer is librarian Kimberlynn Jurkowski …
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Eduwonk
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Dan Crenshaw to his fellow conservatives: Come ‘correct’ — He voted with Donald Trump most of the time but isn't a loyalist. He's a stalwart conservative willing to criticize other conservatives. — Rep. Dan Crenshaw, in short, is a GOP anomaly. — In the roiling cauldron of Republican politics …