Top Items:
wwwnc.cdc.gov:
Level 4: Very High … Avoid cruise travel, regardless of vaccination status. If you travel on a cruise ship, make sure you are fully vaccinated before travel and get a COVID-19 vaccine booster dose if you are eligible. Getting vaccinated is still the best way to protect yourself from severe disease …
Discussion:
Insider, CBS News, Slate, Washington Post, Forbes, Bloomberg, Wholistic, New York Post, Neil’s Newsletter, 6abc, NBC Boston, CNBC, Mock Paper Scissors and Political Wire
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Adeel Hassan / New York Times:
Covid Live Updates: South Africa Says Its Omicron Wave Has Passed With No Big Spike in Deaths — The announcement offered cautious hope to other countries grappling with the fast-spreading variant. The C.D.C. urged Americans to stay off cruise ships, regardless of vaccination status.
Discussion:
Townhall, New York Post, UPI, Metro.co.uk, FOX 46 Charlotte, Manu’s Perspective, The Daily Wire, The Guardian, KOLR and Joe.My.God.
Carl Zimmer / New York Times:
J&J's booster shot provides strong protection against severe disease from Omicron, a study says. — A Johnson & Johnson booster shot provided strong protection against the Omicron variant, greatly reducing the risk of hospitalization, according to a clinical trial in South Africa.
Discussion:
medRxiv, CNN, Reuters, Mic, Bloomberg, abc7NY, New York Post, HotAir, Politico, UPI, NPR, The Daily Wire, KTLA, Joe.My.God. and NBC New York
Dan Diamond / Washington Post:
FDA expected to authorize Pfizer-BioNTech booster shots for 12-to-15-year-olds by early next week
FDA expected to authorize Pfizer-BioNTech booster shots for 12-to-15-year-olds by early next week
Discussion:
UPI, New York Times and CNN
Adam Klasfeld / Law & Crime:
Federal Judges Order Release of Jeffrey Epstein Civil Settlement at Issue in Lawsuit Against Prince Andrew — Federal judges ordered the unsealing of a 2009 settlement agreement that Prince Andrew has claimed insulates him from a civil lawsuit accusing him of having sexually abused a 17-year-old girl.
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Timothy Bella / Washington Post:
BBC faces backlash after Dershowitz analyzes Maxwell case, despite accusation from alleged Epstein victim — The BBC says it is investigating how Alan Dershowitz was allowed on its airwaves to talk about the conviction of Ghislaine Maxwell without mentioning that the constitutional lawyer …
Monica R. McLemore / Scientific American:
The Complicated Legacy of E. O. Wilson — We must reckon with his and other scientists' racist ideas if we want an equitable future … Monica R. McLemore is an associate professor in the Family Health Care Nursing Department and a clinician-scientist at Advancing New Standards …
Devoun Cetoute / Miami Herald:
Florida COVID update: cases, hospitalizations, deaths — Florida on Thursday reported 77,848 additional COVID-19 cases and 90 more deaths to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to Miami Herald calculations of CDC data. The large increase comes from the CDC backlogging cases …
Discussion:
Florida Politics and Sacramento Bee
Jeff Cox / CNBC:
Weekly jobless claims total 198,000, less than expected and around 52-year low — Weekly jobless claims totaled 198,000 for the week ended Dec. 25. — That was below the 205,000 forecast and near the lowest level since 1969. — Continuing claims also fell, dropping to 1.72 million for their lowest total since March 7, 2020.
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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:
Anti-Knowledge, RINO’s Wrecking Crew, Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, Wall Street Journal, Joe.My.God., Mic, PBS NewsHour and Bangor Daily News
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Stef W. Kight / Axios:
The relentless 2021 news cycle in one chart — Between a siege on the Capitol building, a Texas snowstorm, Brood X cicadas, the Olympics and a stuck container ship in the Suez Canal — not to mention endless COVID variants — it's been a busy year. — Why it matters: In the inaugural Axios …
MSNBC:
Dem Florida gov. candidate Nikki Fried calls out DeSantis's lack of visibility as Omicron surges — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis appears to be missing in action as Omicron sweeps across his state. Florida Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services Nikki Fried, who is seeking …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Lawyers, Guns & Money and Florida Politics
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BBC:
Ashraf Ghani: Ex-Afghan president describes moment he fled the Taliban — Afghanistan's former president has defended his decision to flee the country as the Taliban closed in earlier this year, saying he did it to prevent the destruction of Kabul. — The Taliban seized power in August after taking control of the capital.
Discussion:
New York Post, Wall Street Journal, middleeastmonitor.com, The Daily Caller, WTOP News, New York Times and Insider
Reuters:
Anatomy of a death threat — Trump supporters have waged a campaign of intimidation against the state and local officials who administer U.S. elections. This visual analysis explores hundreds of menacing messages - and explains why they're difficult to counter. — SCROLL TO CONTINUE
Margot Sanger-Katz / New York Times:
A New Ban on Surprise Medical Bills Starts This Week — If you have a medical emergency, you will no longer need to worry about a large bill from a doctor you did not choose. — For years, millions of Americans with medical emergencies could receive another nasty surprise …
Megan Basham / The Daily Wire:
British Newspaper Cancels ‘Person Of The Year’ Poll After J.K. Rowling Runs Away With Top Spot — Readers of the British newspaper, The Guardian, are accusing the outlet of deactivating an online poll that asked readers to vote on “Person of the Year” after it became apparent that J.K. Rowling would handily win.
Claire Ellicott / Daily Mail:
'I don't know much about foreign affairs': George W. Bush made startling confession to Britain's US ambassador, National Archive documents reveal — George W Bush admitted he knew little about international affairs, papers show — His later presidency was dominated by US military action in Iraq and Afghanistan
Discussion:
Breitbart, Raw Story and Political Wire
Jessica Chasmar / Fox Business:
Let's Go Brandon store chain to expand in New England: ‘Business is very, very good’ — Chain owner Keith Lambert tells FOX Business he's opening two new locations to meet demand — Business is booming for a Let's Go Brandon store chain selling anti-President Biden merchandise across New England.
Discussion:
Washington Examiner, The Daily Caller, RedState and IJR
Alex Isenstadt / Politico:
Peter Thiel, Donald Trump Jr. to co-host fundraisers for Cheney challenger — Tech billionaire Peter Thiel and Donald Trump Jr. are co-hosting a pair of January fundraisers for Wyoming Republican Harriet Hageman, the Trump-backed primary challenger running against GOP Rep. Liz Cheney …
John Wright / Raw Story:
Ted Cruz mistakes ‘Western Australia’ for ‘Washington State’ in botched attack on ‘power-drunk’ Dems — Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz apparently confused “Western Australia” with “Washington State” in an attempted attack on Democrats over COVID-19 restrictions on Wednesday night.
Discussion:
UPROXX, Mediaite and HillReporter.com
Steve Appleford / Los Angeles Magazine:
L.A.'s Arms Race of the Affluent — From Beverly Hills to Santa Monica, the crime-panicked wealthy are banishing bling and buying guns — In Beverly Hills, even the purchase of a firearm comes with certain...expectations. The city's only gun store, Beverly Hills Guns, is a “concierge service” …
Discussion:
BizPac Review, Breitbart and The Daily Caller
Associated Press:
Confederate monuments will likely go to Black history museum — RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia and Richmond officials on Thursday announced a tentative agreement to transfer ownership of the city's now mostly removed Confederate monuments to the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia.
Discussion:
The Hill, WTOP News, Mock Paper Scissors, WRIC-TV and IJR
John Wagner / Washington Post:
Man who uttered 'Let's go Brandon' during Biden call-in event mulls running for office — An Oregon man who invoked a coded vulgar insult of President Biden during a Christmas Eve call-in event with the president and first lady is considering running for office and says he would welcome former president Donald Trump's blessing.
Discussion:
Truth and Consequences, Patterico's Pontifications and Todd Starnes
Denver Post:
Denver gunman's novels named real-life victims, described similar attacks — Lyndon McLeod's family say they were estranged for years — The man who authorities believe killed five people in a shooting spree across the Denver metro Monday wrote about killing two of the victims in a series …
Discussion:
The Hill, USA Today, The Colorado Sun, Metro.co.uk and Lawyers, Guns & Money
Julia Azari / New York Times:
A.O.C. and Manchin Are in the Same Party. No Wonder Democrats Are Struggling. — Ms. Azari has taught and written extensively about the American presidency, political parties and political rhetoric. — The promise of Joe Biden's candidacy for president was his potential to assemble …
Discussion:
Balloon Juice
Christina Cameron / House Republican Leader:
Leader McCarthy Appoints Congressman Michael Turner As Ranking Member of HPSCI — Washington, D.C. - House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (CA-23) has appointed Congressman Michael Turner (OH-10) to be Ranking Member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, effective January 1 …
Discussion:
The Hill and The Daily Caller
Bradford Betz / Fox News:
Portland Antifa rioter charged with assaulting police has case dismissed after 30 hours community service — Portland, like other major U.S. cities, dealt with a wave of protests and social unrest in the summer of 2020 — Antifa protesters disrupt pro-life prayer vigil on Texas college campus
Discussion:
RedState and Just The News