memeorandum: Dr. Anthony Fauci's Golden Parachute Will Exceed $350,000 Per Year - The Largest In U.S. Federal Government History (Adam Andrzejewski/Forbes)

6:20 PM ET, December 29, 2021

Top Items:

Ghislaine Maxwell Found Guilty of Helping Jeffrey Epstein Abuse Girls — Ghislaine Maxwell is found guilty of aiding in Epstein's abuse. — Ghislaine Maxwell, the daughter of a British media mogul and the former companion to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, was convicted on Wednesday …

Discussion: Townhall, The Daily Caller, FOX 5 San Diego, Deseret News, Deadline and Twitchy

Erica Orden / New York Magazine:

Got Her — After skating for years, Ghislaine Maxwell is convicted of abusing girls with Jeffrey Epstein. — A federal jury on Wednesday found Ghislaine Maxwell guilty of operating a sex-trafficking ring with her late boyfriend, Jeffrey Epstein, capping a decades-long effort to bring …

Discussion: Vanity Fair and UPROXX

Shayna Jacobs / Washington Post:

Ghislaine Maxwell convicted of trafficking girls for Jeffrey Epstein — NEW YORK — Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime paramour of financier Jeffrey Epstein, was convicted on sex-trafficking charges after a trial that centered on what types of enabling conduct — including befriending young girls …

Discussion: New York Post, CBS News, UPI, TMZ.com, Fox News, The Daily Wire, Raw Story, CBS New York and The Wrap

Associated Press:
Ghislaine Maxwell convicted in Epstein sex abuse case

Discussion: The Hill, NPR, CNBC, NBC New York, Washington Examiner, The Daily Beast, National Review, Variety, Metro.co.uk and Al Jazeera

New York Post:
Ghislaine Maxwell convicted of sex trafficking victim for Jeffrey Epstein

Discussion: The Daily Wire, Ace of Spades HQ and Mother Jones

Jon Ralston / The Nevada Independent:

Reid's final hang up — There will never be another like him. — Not a chance. — Oh sure, there will be leaders who grew up in unimaginable poverty. Or those who are more workhorse than showhorse. Or who dominate their state's political apparatus.

Discussion: Las Vegas Review-Journal, Common Dreams, Raw Story, Associated Press and Washington Post

Burgess Everett / Politico:
'He's a press guy, I'm not': How Harry Reid shaped Chuck Schumer

Discussion: CNN, Slate, Deseret News, Vox, Talking Points Memo and Las Vegas Review-Journal

The White House:
A Proclamation on the Death of Harry Reid

Discussion: Associated Press and HuffPost

Jeff Goodell / Rolling Stone:

‘The Fuse Has Been Blown,’ and the Doomsday Glacier Is Coming for Us All — New data suggests a massive collapse of the ice shelf in as little as five years. “We are dealing with an event that no human has ever witnessed,” says one scientist. “We have no analog for this”

Natasha Bertrand / CNN:

Biden to speak with Putin on Thursday at Russian leader's request — (CNN)President Joe Biden will hold a call with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday afternoon “to discuss a range of topics, including upcoming diplomatic engagements with Russia,” National Security Council spokesperson Emily Horne told CNN.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, The Hill, Raw Story, TASS and Deseret News

Politico:
Biden and Putin to speak again at ‘moment of crisis’

Discussion: CNBC, Washington Examiner, Fox News, ABC News, Associated Press, NBC News, NPR, The Guardian, Foreign Policy, New York Post, Al Jazeera, The White House, Bloomberg, CBS News, One America News Network and Washington Times

John Wagner / Washington Post:
Biden to hold another call with Putin on Thursday afternoon, NSC says

Discussion: USA Today

Constance Grady / Vox:

Why so much Obama-era pop culture feels so cringe now — How Hamilton, Parks and Recreation, and Harry Potter lost cultural cachet. — One of the oddities of getting old is bearing witness as the pop culture you used to think would always be beyond reproach slowly slides out of favor.

Discussion: Balloon Juice

Timothy Bella / Washington Post:

He died after waiting 15 days for a hospital bed. His family blames unvaccinated covid-19 patients. — Throughout his life, Dale Weeks was characterized by family and friends in Iowa as “a good neighbor,” someone who would do anything for anyone. So when he was diagnosed with sepsis last month …

Discussion: The Hill and Twitchy

Barry Ritholtz / The Big Picture:

After Vaccines: Where Covid Death Rates Have Risen — Do a compare and contrast of the red and green maps above. They are the most astonishing thing I saw today. — They are from a NY Times deep data dive into the Covid mortality stats post-vaccine availability, titled “Why Covid Death Rates Are Rising for Some Groups.”

Yaron Steinbuch / New York Post:

Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas' teammates considered boycotting final meet in protest — A group of UPenn swimmers were so upset by transgender athlete Lia Thomas' advantages that they mulled boycotting their final home meet - but decided not to for fear they'd be banned from the Ivy League championship, according to a report.

Discussion: Page Array and Ace of Spades HQ

Luke Broadwater / New York Times:

2 Georgia Republicans Rack Up Fines for Defying House's Mask Mandate — Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene and Andrew Clyde have incurred more than $100,000 combined in penalties for dozens of violations. — WASHINGTON — During a recent marathon session in the House …

Discussion: Insider

Thomas Gibbons-Neff / New York Times:

11 Years After Trying to Kill Each Other, a Marine and a Talib Meet Again — A Times reporter who once served in the Marines returned to the site of a major battle in Afghanistan to see what's changed since the Taliban took over — and to meet a commander he once fought. — MARJA, Afghanistan — The tea was hot.

Associated Press:

Decades of DOD efforts fail to stamp out bias, extremism — In February, with the images of the violent insurrection in Washington still fresh in the minds of Americans, newly confirmed Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin took the unprecedented step of signing a memo directing commanding officers across …

Discussion: The Root and Raw Story

Jonathan Capehart / Washington Post:

Why I forgive Ralph Northam — Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) said something in a meeting with The Post's editorial board just before Christmas that still rings in my ears: “The eyes can't see what the brain doesn't know.” — According to the pediatric neurologist turned politician …

New York Times:

Eric Adams Will Name Brooklyn Power Broker as Chief of Staff — Frank Carone, a prominent lawyer for the Brooklyn Democratic Party whose business dealings have drawn scrutiny, will serve in a critical role at City Hall. — Mayor-elect Eric Adams plans on Thursday to name Frank Carone …

Adam Andrzejewski / Forbes:

Dr. Anthony Fauci's Golden Parachute Will Exceed $350,000 Per Year - The Largest In U.S. Federal Government History — On Christmas Eve, Dr. Anthony Fauci turned 81. However, he is not retiring just yet. If he did, Fauci would reap the largest federal retirement package in U.S. history.

Discussion: Fox News, Human Events, New York Post, Townhall, Washington Times, The Gateway Pundit, The Western Journal, BizPac Review and Breitbart

Politico:

Republicans eye new front in education wars: Making school board races partisan — TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Republicans across America are pressing local jurisdictions and state lawmakers to make typically sleepy school board races into politicized, partisan elections in an attempt to gain …

Discussion: Twitchy

Robby Soave / Reason:

Facebook Said My Article Was ‘False Information.’ Now the Fact-Checkers Admit They Were Wrong. — On Monday, I received a rather curious notification on Facebook. A friend alerted me that when she tried to share a recent article of mine, the social media site automatically blurred the accompanying image …

Discussion: HotAir, Fox News and The Daily Caller

Benjamin Siegel / ABC News:

Jan. 6 committee chairman could seek interview with GOP leader Kevin McCarthy — Bennie Thompson said he'd like to interview the minority leader about the riot. — Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., the chairman of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack …

Wall Street Journal:

Facebook's Pushback: Stem the Leaks, Spin the Politics, Don't Say Sorry — Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg drove response to disclosures about company's influence; sending deputies to testify in Congress — The day after former Facebook employee and whistleblower Frances Haugen went public in October …

Discussion: Insider, Slate, Raw Story and New York Post, more at Techmeme »

Andy Newman / New York Times:

Covid Live Updates: New York City Struggles to Keep Running Under Omicron — Average global cases reach a new high, and many Europeans are scrambling for tests. Delta and Omicron are surging across the U.S., although hospitalizations and deaths remain far below earlier peaks.

Politico:

National Republicans luring John James into House race — Prominent national Republicans are trying to lure John James, an Army veteran and two-time failed Senate candidate, to run for a newly-created Michigan congressional seat. — Recruiting James has been a top priority …

Discussion: MLive.com, BizPac Review and Detroit News

Danielle Echeverria / San Francisco Chronicle:

Two California teachers were secretly recorded speaking about LGBTQ student outreach. Now they're fighting for their jobs — This fall, a pair of middle school teachers from the Salinas Valley traveled to Palm Springs for the California Teachers Association's annual LGBTQ+ Issues Conference.

Discussion: New York Post

NBC News:

Child Covid hospitalizations are up, especially in 5 states — States see troubling rise in pediatric Covid hospitalizations — In the last four weeks, the average number of children hospitalized with Covid-19 jumped 52 percent, from a low of 1,270 on Nov. 29 to 1,933 on Sunday …

Discussion: Townhall, KXAN-TV, HotAir and NBC New York