memeorandum: Federal judge stops mask and vaccine mandates in Texas Head Start (James Clark/KLBK

12:45 PM ET, January 1, 2022

Top Items:

Kyle Cheney / Politico:

Efforts to Trump-proof presidential certification crash into congressional realities — The violent attack on the Capitol cost lives, threatened the transition of presidential power and forever changed the way Congress does its work. One year later, we at POLITICO are looking back at those changes …

Discussion: Raw Story

Holly Otterbein / Politico:

The left is already looking to 2024. Some want to see a Biden primary challenge. — When Joe Biden first came into office, progressives said he could be the next FDR. — Now, as Biden's relationship with the left has come under strain, liberals are talking about treating …

Discussion: HotAir

Wall Street Journal:

Who Won in Afghanistan? Private Contractors — The U.S. military spent $14 trillion during two decades of war; those who benefited range from major manufacturers to entrepreneurs — The U.S. lost its 20-year campaign to transform Afghanistan. Many contractors won big.

Lauren Gambino / The Guardian:

Republicans aim to sow outrage, Trump-style, with an eye on 2022 midterms — Republicans embrace the culture war battles Trump waged, as a strategy for winning back control of the House and Senate — The debate was ostensibly over a stop-gap spending bill that would avert a government shutdown.

Discussion: Fox News, New York Times, CNN, New York Magazine, Raw Story, Newsbusters, The American Independent, CNBC, DownWithTyranny!, BizPac Review, Associated Press and WTOP News

Amy Walter / Cook Political Report:

Why 2022 Rhymes With the Previous Four Midterms — It feels safer to bet on unpredictability than stability in this era of tremendous political and social churn and upheaval. While we know that the midterm elections favor the ‘out’ party (i.e. the party that doesn't control the White House) …

Discussion: Fox News

Emma G. Fitzsimmons / New York Times:

Eric Adams takes office as New York City's 110th mayor at a perilous moment. — Eric Adams, the city's second Black mayor, faces difficult decisions over how to lead New York City through the next wave of the pandemic. — Eric Leroy Adams was sworn in as the 110th mayor of New York City early Saturday …

Discussion: Associated Press, The Hill, CBS News, PIX11, CNN and Joe.My.God.

Wall Street Journal:

Chief Justice John Roberts Pledges to Bolster Judicial Ethics — Year-end report addresses Wall Street Journal findings that federal judges with financial conflicts improperly ruled in hundreds of cases — WASHINGTON—Chief Justice John Roberts pledged Friday to improve ethics training …

Discussion: Washington Post, NPR and SCOTUSblog

Adam Liptak / New York Times:
Chief Justice Roberts Reflects on Conflicts, Harassment and Judicial Independence

Discussion: UPI, USA Today, NBC News, CNN and Bloomberg

Jessica Gresko / Associated Press:
Chief justice: Judges must better avoid financial conflicts

Discussion: Political Wire

James Clark / KLBK | KAMC:

Federal judge stops mask and vaccine mandates in Texas Head Start — LUBBOCK, Texas — A federal judge in Lubbock halted mask and vaccine mandates in the Head Start program within the State of Texas. The ruling by Judge James “Wesley” Hendrix came Friday (New Year's Eve).

Discussion: Washington Examiner, HotAir and The Hill

The Texas Tribune:

First part of Texas' 2020 election audit reveals few issues, echoes findings from review processes already in place — An initial review of four counties' election results — launched after pressure from former President Donald Trump and touted by GOP leaders — showed few discrepancies between electronic …

Discussion: Raw Story

Calvin Woodward / Associated Press:

In nation at war with itself, one town tries cup of civility — LOVETTSVILLE, Va. (AP) — When Maureen Donnelly Morris came from nearby Leesburg to open her café in Lovettsville, she got a warm welcome. Neighbors rallied to her aid. Divisions ripping at their town and their country were set aside.

Washington Post:

Homicides soar in District, Maryland suburbs in 2021 — The rise in killings largely attributed to gunfire reflects a national trend — Homicides in the District and in the Maryland suburbs soared in 2021 to levels not seen in more than a decade, largely driven by shootings and reflecting …

Politico:

Bernard Kerik provides batch of documents to Jan. 6 select committee — A key adviser to Donald Trump's legal team in their post-election quest to unearth evidence of fraud has delivered a trove of documents to Jan. 6 investigators describing those efforts.

Discussion: CNN, Joe.My.God., Mediaite, New York Post and Raw Story

Kyle Morris / Fox News:

Ron DeSantis accompanied wife to cancer treatment while critics claimed he was ‘missing’ — DeSantis announced his wife's breast cancer diagnosis in October — Florida Democrats blame DeSantis for COVID surge — Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis accompanied his wife to her cancer treatment …

Discussion: BizPac Review, Althouse, RedState, HuffPost, Townhall and No More Mister Nice Blog

Nathaniel Rodriguez / WFLA-TV: Gov. Ron DeSantis to make public appearance at Orange Bowl, first event appearance in two weeks

Cate Cadell / Washington Post:

China harvests masses of data on Western targets, documents show — China is turning a major part of its internal Internet data surveillance network outward, mining Western social media, including Facebook and Twitter, to equip its government agencies, military and police with information on foreign targets …

New York Times:
Chinese Police Hunt Overseas Critics With Advanced Tech

more at Techmeme »

New York Times:

Documents Reveal Basic Flaws in Pentagon Dismissals of Civilian Casualty Claims — A Times investigation found inconsistent approaches to assessing claims of civilians killed by coalition forces — including failures to conduct simple internet searches. — The report that came to the attention …

U.S. Department of Justice:

One Year Since the Jan. 6 Attack on the Capitol — Thursday, Jan. 6 2022, marks one year since the attack on the U.S. Capitol that disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress in the process of affirming the presidential election results. The government continues to investigate losses …

Discussion: Insider

Keith L. Alexander / Washington Post:
Prosecutors break down charges, convictions for 725 arrested so far in Jan. 6 attack on U.S. Capitol

Discussion: Raw Story

Richard Severo / New York Times:

Betty White, a Television Golden Girl From the Start, Is Dead at 99 — Among the many highlights of a career that began in 1949 were star turns on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” in the 1970s and “Saturday Night Live” in 2010. — Betty White, who created two of the most memorable characters in sitcom history …

Discussion: The Full Belmonte, Associated Press, Balloon Juice, Outside the Beltway, Variety, The Mahablog and NPR

Adam Bernstein / Washington Post:
Betty White, one of the most endearing and enduring faces on television, dies at 99

Discussion: Reuters, Mediaite, Variety, Florida Politics, Page Six, The Daily Beast and Vanity Fair

TMZ.com:
Betty White Dead at 99

Discussion: New York Times, Insider, Salon, Raw Story, The Daily Dot, Mediaite, Billboard, The Western Journal, W, CNN, The Wrap, People.com, UPI, Joe.My.God., Pet Rescue Report, Deseret News and The Daily Caller

Josh Smith / Reuters:

North Korea's Kim talks food not nukes for 2022 — North Korean leader Kim Jong Un capped off his 10th year in power with a speech that made more mention of tractor factories and school uniforms than nuclear weapons or the United States, according to summaries by state media on Saturday.

Discussion: HotAir, UPI, Bloomberg and SABC News