Top Items:
Janice Kew / Bloomberg:
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 …
Discussion:
The Daily Wire, The Gateway Pundit and Al Jazeera
RELATED:
Yascha Mounk / The Atlantic:
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 …
Derek Thompson / The Atlantic:
Is Omicron Milder? — The mystery of the moment is very hard to solve. Here's my best shot. — About the author: Derek Thompson is a staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of the Work in Progress newsletter. He is also the author of Hit Makers and the host of the podcast Plain English.
Discussion:
Denver Post
Jason Stanley / The Guardian:
America is now in fascism's legal phase — The history of racism in the US is fertile ground for fascism. Attacks on the courts, education, the right to vote and women's rights are further steps on the path to toppling democracy — et us be reminded that before there is a final solution …
Discussion:
Raw Story
David Frum / The Atlantic:
Biden Won Big With a Bad Hand — Relative to its strength in Congress, the Biden administration has proved outstandingly successful. — About the author: David Frum is a staff writer at The Atlantic and the author of Trumpocalypse: Restoring American Democracy (2020).
Discussion:
New Republic
RELATED:
Niraj Chokshi / New York Times:
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.
Discussion:
Fox News, Insider, MSNBC, Washington Post, Daily Mail, RedState, CBS News, CNN and Twitchy
RELATED:
EJ Dickson / Rolling Stone:
The Jonas Brothers Made a Vaccine PSA TikTok With President Biden — and It Massively Backfired — A cringey video referencing the “Bing Bong” meme that went viral earlier this month did not go over well with the youths — On TikTok, there perhaps is no insult more withering and devastating …
Kyle Cheney / Politico:
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:
CNBC, Fox News, CNN, Talking Points Memo, File411’s Newsletter, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, New York Post, Jihad Watch, CNN, Raw Story, CNN, Fox News, The Daily Beast, IJR, NBC News, CBS News, New York Times, Reuters, CBS News, TheBlaze, Metro.co.uk, Raw Story, HuffPost, UPI, Political Wire, Washington Times, Conservative Brief, Insider and Washington Examiner
RELATED:
Katelyn Polantz / CNN:
Michael Flynn loses his legal challenge to the House January 6 probe, one day after filing it
Pete Williams / NBC News:
Judge denies Michael Flynn's request for restraining order against Jan. 6 committee
Judge denies Michael Flynn's request for restraining order against Jan. 6 committee
Discussion:
Raw Story
Caitlin Owens / Axios:
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:
HotAir, New York Magazine, Acute Condition, CBS News, Informed Comment and The Intercept
RELATED:
Christopher Tremoglie / Washington Examiner:
I did everything Biden told me to do. On Friday, I tested positive for COVID-19
I did everything Biden told me to do. On Friday, I tested positive for COVID-19
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, Progress Pond, RedState, National Review and Mediaite
David Gilbert / VICE:
People Got Sick at a Conspiracy Conference. They're Sure It's Anthrax. — The fact that the conference was likely a COVID outbreak and superspreader event has been almost entirely ignored. — DG — A group of unvaccinated people who attended a huge conspiracy conference in Dallas earlier …
Discussion:
Political Wire
Carl Zimmer / New York Times:
Covid Live Updates: Omicron Cases Appear Less Severe, 2 U.K. Studies Say — Experts warned that hospitals could still be flooded, because the variant is so transmissible. The F.D.A. authorized Pfizer's Covid pills for high-risk patients 12 and older, a treatment that could be available within days.
Discussion:
STAT
RELATED:
Jared S. Hopkins / Wall Street Journal:
Pfizer's Covid-19 Pill Authorized in U.S.
Pfizer's Covid-19 Pill Authorized in U.S.
Discussion:
Washington Post, Associated Press, Politico, Al Jazeera, New York Post, Reuters, Metro.co.uk, KXAN-TV, STAT and Political Wire
US Food and Drug Administration:
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Authorizes First Oral Antiviral for Treatment of COVID-19
Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Authorizes First Oral Antiviral for Treatment of COVID-19
Discussion:
Bloomberg, CBS News, CNN, KDFX-TV, Engadget, UPI, KXAN-TV, Reason, Daily Kos, New York Times, Business Wire, The Daily Caller, The Gateway Pundit, Washington Times, NPR, The Verge and РИА …
Ruby Cramer / Politico:
‘Have I Hit Bottom?’: Michael Avenatti and the Fall of a Trump-Era Antihero — VENICE, Calif. — Inside a two-bedroom apartment, 11 blocks from the ocean, there is a man in free fall, though he has nowhere to go. He wears a monitor on his right ankle, government-issued, blinking green beneath his tapered track pants.
Jonathan S. Tobin / Haaretz:
Trump Just Crossed a Red Line for His Evangelical and Jewish Fans — Trump's obscenities and antisemitic tropes don't bother his Jewish fans. But a recent quote has stunned his pro-Israel base, evangelicals and Jews, to the core - and could complicate his chances for a second term — Zen Read
RELATED:
Wajahat Ali / The Daily Beast:
Trump's GOP Has Five Simple Tricks for Promoting Antisemitism
Trump's GOP Has Five Simple Tricks for Promoting Antisemitism
Discussion:
Raw Story
Washington Post:
Inside the nonstop pressure campaign by Trump allies to get election officials to revisit the 2020 vote — More than a year after Donald Trump lost the presidency, election officials across the country are facing a growing barrage of claims that the vote was not secure and demands to investigate …
Discussion:
Raw Story
The White House:
Statement by President Joe Biden Extending the Pause on Student Loan Repayment an Additional 90 Days — When I came into office, we were facing a number of unprecedented crises. Our economy was creating only 50,000 new jobs per month, less than 1 percent of Americans were fully vaccinated …
Discussion:
Insider, NPR, ED News, CBS News, Washington Post, Truthout, TheBlaze, Townhall, Deseret News and Mediaite
RELATED:
New York Times:
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 …
Discussion:
Digby's Hullabaloo and S.T.O.P.
Washington Post:
D.C. to require coronavirus vaccination to enter restaurants, gyms and other businesses — People 12 and older will be required to show proof of coronavirus vaccination to enter many businesses in D.C., including restaurants, starting in mid-January under rules that Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) announced on Wednesday.
Jennifer Mcdermott / Associated Press:
Secret Service: Nearly $100B stolen in pandemic relief funds — Nearly $100 billion at minimum has been stolen from COVID-19 relief programs set up to help businesses and people who lost their jobs due to the pandemic, the U.S. Secret Service said Tuesday. — The estimate is based …
Discussion:
United States Secret Service, HotAir, The Daily Caller, TheBlaze, Breitbart, IJR, Associated Press and CNN
RELATED:
Greg Sargent / Washington Post:
How bad will 2022 be for Democrats? A new party analysis sounds the alarm. — Get ready to hear this phrase in discussions among Democrats about the 2022 midterms: “The Biden-Youngkin voter.” — This category — which refers to voters who picked President Biden in 2020 …
New York Times:
India's Christians Attacked Under Anti-Conversion Laws — “They want to remove us from society,” a Christian farmer said of Hindu extremists. Rising attacks on Christians are part of a broader shift in India, in which minorities feel less safe. — INDORE, India — The Christians were mid-hymn when the mob kicked in the door.
Mike Spies / New Yorker:
N.R.A. Chief Wayne LaPierre's Misleading Testimony About Free Yacht Trips in the Bahamas — Documents and accounts of former staffers, which raise questions about LaPierre's statements, could strengthen the New York attorney general's lawsuit to dissolve the gun-rights group.
John Murawski / RealClearInvestigations:
No Critical Race Theory in Schools? Here's the Abundant Evidence Saying Otherwise — Above, a mother protests critical race theory in Albuquerque last month. Such objections are often met with denials that CRT is being taught, despite many indications to the contrary.
Discussion:
National Review
Rachel Weiner / Washington Post:
Proud Boy pleads guilty to felony charge in Capitol riot — A New York man who was a member of the Proud Boys pleaded guilty Wednesday to obstructing Congress and conspiring to obstruct law enforcement during the pro-Trump riot on Jan. 6, a felony. — The plea is significant because Matthew Greene …
Discussion:
NPR, Associated Press and KDFX-TV