memeorandum: Unvaccinated Marines claim COVID mandate ‘purge’ as all religious exemption bids are denied (Callie Patteson/New York Post)

4:40 AM ET, December 30, 2021

Top Items:

Coronavirus risk calculations get harder as a study suggests rapid tests may be less effective at detecting omicron — Fauci draws a line on New Year's Eve parties — no big crowd, and moderate the “hugging and kissing” — As the coronavirus spawns a record-breaking wave of infections …

Discussion: New York Times, COVID-19 Policy Update, The Daily Wire, KXAN-TV and NBC Chicago

New York Times:

U.S. Reports 488,000 New Daily Virus Cases, Shattering Record — Here's what you need to know: — The U.S. breaks its single-day case record, nearly doubling the highest numbers from last winter. — With a caseload nearly twice that of the worst days last winter, the United States shattered …

Discussion: Axios, Update from an Epidemic, Deseret News, Metro.co.uk, Townhall, HotAir and The Guardian

New York Times:

As Omicron Spreads, Officials Ponder What It Means to Be ‘Fully Vaccinated’ — The contagious new variant has companies and government officials wondering whether Americans can really be considered vaccinated without booster shots. — Goldman Sachs and Jeffries, the investment banks, are demanding that employees get booster shots.

Discussion: New York Post, CBS San Francisco, KXAN-TV and Twitchy

Devoun Cetoute / Miami Herald:
Florida COVID update: cases, deaths, hospitalizations

Discussion: Sacramento Bee

Barry Ritholtz / The Big Picture:
After Vaccines: Where Covid Death Rates Have Risen

Discussion: HotAir

Allysia Finley / Wall Street Journal:
Is Fluvoxamine the Covid Drug We've Been Waiting For?

Discussion: Washington Post and NBC News

New York Times:

Ghislaine Maxwell Found Guilty of Helping Jeffrey Epstein Abuse Girls — Ms. Maxwell vowed to appeal after a jury found her guilty of sex-trafficking and conspiracy on Wednesday afternoon in federal court in Manhattan. — Ghislaine Maxwell Is Found Guilty of Aiding in Epstein's Sex Abuse

Erica Orden / New York Magazine:
Got Her — After skating for years, Ghislaine Maxwell is convicted of abusing girls with Jeffrey Epstein.

Adam Jentleson / New York Times:

The Side of Harry Reid That Most People Never Saw — Mr. Jentleson was the communications director (from 2010 to 2014) and deputy chief of staff (from 2015 to 2016) for Senator Harry Reid. — Senator Harry Reid, who died a few weeks after his 82nd birthday, possessed a quality unique among politicians …

Discussion: HuffPost, New Republic, Washington Post, Politico and IJR

Jon Ralston / The Nevada Independent:
Reid's final hang up

Discussion: Las Vegas Review-Journal, Common Dreams and Raw Story

Paul Kane / Washington Post: Searchlight, Las Vegas and the two identities of Harry Reid

David Axelrod / CNN:
Harry Reid took a risk on Barack Obama

Discussion: ImmigrationReform.com, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Los Angeles Times, Slate, Vox, The Wrap, Insider, PBS NewsHour and NBC Bay Area

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”

Nicholas Riccardi / Associated Press:

‘Slow-motion insurrection’: How GOP seizes election power — In the weeks leading up to the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, a handful of Americans — well-known politicians, obscure local bureaucrats — stood up to block then-President Donald Trump's unprecedented attempt …

Discussion: PBS NewsHour

AMAC: 2021: The Year the “Great Realignment” Became a Death Spiral for Democrats

Nick Corasaniti / New York Times:

Michigan's New Congressional Maps Undo Years of Gerrymandering — A citizen ballot initiative took redistricting out of the hands of partisan legislators. The result: competitive political districts — and an example of how to push back against hyperpartisanship.

Discussion: Washington Post, Political Wire and Associated Press

Joseph Wulfsohn / Fox News:

Second CNN producer under ‘criminal investigation’ involving ‘potential juvenile victims’ — Rick Saleeby resigned earlier this month as a senior producer of ‘The Lead with Jake Tapper’ — Tucker: There's something very strange going on at CNN — A second ex-CNN producer …

Discussion: RedState and Breitbart

Robert Barnes / Washington Post:

Trump asks Supreme Court to consider Jan. 6 chairman's interview with Washington Post in bid to block records — Lawyers for former president Donald Trump told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that a Washington Post interview with the chairman of the House select committee investigating …

Discussion: CNN, The Hill, CBS News, Washington Examiner, Political Flare, UPI, Joe.My.God. and Raw Story

Benjamin Siegel / ABC News:
Jan. 6 committee chairman could seek interview with GOP leader Kevin McCarthy

Discussion: Raw Story, UPROXX, Fox News and Political Flare

Kelsey Vlamis / Insider:

A right-wing radio host said Trump needs an ‘intervention from a friend’ after the former president advocated for the COVID-19 vaccine — Former President Donald Trump advocated for the COVID-19 vaccine in multiple appearances this month. — His comments sparked criticism from some factions …

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Raw Story and Political Flare

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 …

Nathan Solis / Los Angeles Times:

Merced man arrested on way to White House with rifle, ‘hit list’ compiled from TikTok — A California man was arrested last week in Iowa after telling police he was driving straight to the White House “to kill persons in power” and was found with an assault rifle and body armor, according to federal court records.

Discussion: NBC News, Sacramento Bee, The Hill, The Daily Caller, Fox News and Washington Examiner

U.S. Department of Defense:

DoD Awards $136.7 Million Contract to MilliporeSigma to Establish Domestic Production Capacity of Critical Material Used in COVID-19 Point-of-Care Tests — On Dec. 29, 2021, the Department of Defense (DoD), on behalf of and in coordination with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services …

Discussion: New York Times

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: Washington Times, Page Array, Ace of Spades HQ and RedState

Callie Patteson / New York Post:

Unvaccinated Marines claim COVID mandate ‘purge’ as all religious exemption bids are denied — Marines have claimed in a new report that they are being “crushed” by the Defense Department's COVID-19 vaccine mandate, with the military branch declining to approve a single religious exemption application.

Discussion: Fox News, Meaning In History and BizPac Review

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

Robby Soave / Reason:
Facebook Said My Article Was ‘False Information.’ Now the Fact-Checkers Admit They Were Wrong.

Discussion: HotAir, The Daily Caller and Fox News

Zachary Basu / Axios:

Biden accepts Putin request for phone call ahead of talks on Ukraine — President Biden will speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday afternoon, ahead of a series of diplomatic talks in January over Russia's military buildup on its border with Ukraine.