memeorandum: Jason Miller's ‘Free Speech’ Site Gettr Site Bans Users From Posting Racist Term ‘Groyper’ (Zachary Petrizzo/The Daily Beast)

4:15 PM ET, December 24, 2021

Top Items:

White House reporters ask for virtual press briefings during the latest covid surge — With a fierce new variant of the coronavirus on the loose, White House reporters are urging press secretary Jen Psaki to move her daily briefings online — but it's an idea Psaki has been cool to so far.

Discussion: Twitchy, more at Mediagazer »

David Shepardson / Reuters:

Exclusive: U.S. to lift travel curbs on eight African countries — The Biden administration will lift travel restrictions on eight southern African countries imposed last month over concerns about the fast-spreading COVID-19 Omicron variant, the White House said Friday.

Discussion: Politico, Fox News, Zandar Versus The Stupid, New York Post, UPI, Al Jazeera, Metro.co.uk, Joe.My.God., TheBlaze, The Daily Caller, Forbes, CBS News, Insider, KDFX-TV, The Hill and Mediaite

Dan Diamond / Washington Post:
Biden to lift travel restrictions on southern African countries

Discussion: Fox News, National Review, Breitbart, New York Times and Political Wire

Christopher Hutton / Washington Examiner:
US to lift travel restrictions on eight African countries

Discussion: Politico, One America News Network and Townhall

Ashraf Khalil / Associated Press: US to lift omicron-linked travel ban on southern Africa

Ed Pilkington / The Guardian:

Report shows the extent of Republican efforts to sabotage democracy — Research identifies at least 262 bills were introduced in 41 states this year with the intent to hijack the election process — The Republican assault on free and fair elections instigated by Donald Trump is gathering pace …

Discussion: Raw Story and States United Democracy Center

MSNBC:

‘We took the Capitol’: Proud Boy pleads guilty to Jan. 6 conspiracy charges — On Wednesday, one of the members of the Proud Boys became the first to admit he was at the Capitol to stop the transfer of power, as part of a cooperation agreement with the government.

Cheryl Teh / Insider:

Fringe factions of MAGA world are imploding after Trump publicly advocated for the COVID-19 jab — The fringe factions of the right wing erupted in anger after Trump lauded the COVID-19 vaccines. — Figures from Alex Jones to Ali Alexander swiftly rebuked Trump for his pro-vaccine stance.

Discussion: Raw Story, The Daily Beast and Alternet.org

Tim Dickinson / Rolling Stone:
MAGA Diehards Melt Down Over Trump's Pro-Vax Push

Discussion: RedState, Digby's Hullabaloo, Joe.My.God., Political Flare and Mediaite

CNN:

New January 6 video shows three hours of violent and chaotic assault on police — Capitol Police officer: Trump supporters are being lied to — (CNN)The Justice Department this week released a three-hour video of a battle between rioters and the police at the US Capitol Building on January 6 …

Discussion: Raw Story and Joe.My.God.

Jeff Stein / Washington Post:

Manchin told White House he would support version of tax on billionaires — His offer comes as fellow a Democrat, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, raises new concerns, illustrating that the party has work to do — Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) told the White House last week that he would support …

Discussion: New York Post, The Daily Caller, The Hill, Insider and IJR

Peggy Noonan / Wall Street Journal:

The Third, and Last, Covid Winter Begins — We'll be living for a long time with the virus's ramifications for health, the economy and politics. — In New York we feel back where we started. It's like 2020, with everyone in a mask and canceling gatherings and scrambling to find a test.

Zachary Petrizzo / The Daily Beast:

Jason Miller's ‘Free Speech’ Site Gettr Site Bans Users From Posting Racist Term ‘Groyper’ — The free speech right-wing alternative battles fury from white nationalists. — The free speech-centered, MAGA-inspired Twitter alternative Gettr, led by former Trump advisor Jason Miller …

Discussion: Raw Story

Sameer Yasir / New York Times:

As Hindu Extremists Call for Killing of Muslims, India's Leaders Keep Silent — Right-wing Hindu activists at a conference took an oath to harm Muslims if necessary to make “a Hindu-only nation,” the most blatant example of rising anti-Muslim sentiment across India.

Discussion: Al Jazeera

Jonathan Cohn / HuffPost:

Joe Manchin's ‘Scaled-Back’ Framework May Be Better Than It Sounds — Prioritizing certain initiatives over others is hard, but that could be what it takes to save Build Back Better. — It looks like negotiations over President Joe Biden's Build Back Better legislation are only mostly dead …

Discussion: The Lens, AMAC, Brad DeLong's Grasping Reality, The Gillespie Report and Front and Center

Donald Judd / CNN:

Biden calls NORAD and updates children on Santa's progress across the globe — Washington (CNN)President Joe Biden made a Christmas Eve call to North American Aerospace Defense Command on Friday at the White House, updating children on Santa's progress across the globe as part of what NORAD Commander …

Discussion: The Hill, Townhall and Joe.My.God.

Paula Reid / CNN:

Giuliani associate Bernard Kerik plans to publicly release some documents requested by January 6 committee — Reporter: Records would be key to see Trump's activity prior to Jan. 6 — Washington (CNN)Former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik says he is planning to publicly release …

Discussion: Raw Story and Joe.My.God.

Los Angeles Times:

14-year-old girl in dressing room of Burlington fatally shot by LAPD — In an incident the police chief called “devastating and tragic,” an LAPD officer fatally shot a teenage girl at a Burlington clothing store during a chaotic confrontation that also left a suspect dead and another person injured.

Discussion: CBS Los Angeles, KTLA, New York Post, UPI and Law & Crime

Greg Myre / NPR:

How the Soviet Union's collapse explains the current Russia-Ukraine tension — On Christmas Day 1991, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev sat down at a table deep inside the Kremlin and prepared to deliver a monumental speech. Associated Press reporter Alan Cooperman was among the few journalists allowed in.

Discussion: New York Times

New York Times:
Putin Demands Quick Answers on Russian Security Concerns

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, The National Interest, Aearnur’s Newsletter, Quillette, Zen & Art of Winning Wars, Bloomberg, Insider, Al Jazeera, KDFX-TV, The Guardian, TASS, The Moscow Times, New York Post, CBS News, Emerging World, One America News Network and Washington Examiner

Steve Benen / MSNBC:

In bid for Jan. 6 secrecy, Trump asks Supreme Court for help — Two weeks ago, Donald Trump said he has “nothing to hide” about Jan. 6. Today, he asked the Supreme Court to help him hide Jan. 6 materials. — Would the January 6th Committee subpoena sitting members of Congress? Yes, says Schiff.