memeorandum: California town proposes ban on Pride, Black and women's history celebrations (Abené Clayton/The Guardian)

1:25 PM ET, December 22, 2023

Top Items:

Trump recorded pressuring Wayne County canvassers not to certify 2020 vote — Then-President Donald Trump personally pressured two Republican members of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers not to sign the certification of the 2020 presidential election, according to recordings reviewed …

Greg Bluestein / Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

Georgia officials ask FBI to investigate emails from pro-Trump election skeptic — Georgia officials have asked the FBI to investigate a series of emails a Texas activist sent members of the State Election Board demanding an investigation into Georgia's 2020 election, according to three people familiar with the situation.

Discussion: Raw Story and The Messenger

John Santucci / ABC News:

Trump allegedly pressured Michigan election workers not to certify 2020 vote: Report — Details have emerged from a previously unknown phone call. — Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally, Dec. 16, 2023, in Durham, N.H. — A Michigan newspaper is reporting …

Discussion: Raw Story and acecomments.mu.nu

Washington Post:
Biden economic adviser sees ‘a glimmer of evidence’ Americans feel better about the economy

Discussion: Politico and The Daily Caller

Tara Suter / The Hill:
Recordings reportedly show Trump pressuring Michigan canvassers to not certify 2020 vote: Detroit News

Discussion: Raw Story, USA Today, BizPac Review, CNN, The Daily Beast, The Messenger and Mediaite

The White House:

A Proclamation on Granting Pardon for the Offense of Simple Possession of Marijuana, Attempted Simple Possession of Marijuana, or Use of Marijuana — In Proclamation 10467 of October 6, 2022 (Granting Pardon for the Offense of Simple Possession of Marijuana), I exercised my authority under …

Discussion: New York Magazine, Rolling Stone, Business Insider, Washington Examiner, UPI and The Gateway Pundit

NBC News:

Biden to issue pardons for certain marijuana offenses — The president will also commute the sentences of 11 people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses, the White House said. — WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden will sign a proclamation to pardon certain marijuana offenses Friday …

Discussion: The White House, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Hill, Fox News and WHDH-TV

Zeke Mller / Associated Press:
Biden pardons thousands convicted of marijuana charges on federal lands and in Washington

Discussion: NPR, The Hill, CBS News, ABC News, TIME, Politico, Reason, Washington Times, New York Post, Bloomberg, USA Today, Axios, Chicago Tribune, NewsNation and WUSA

Michael Barfield / Florida Center …:

Police have recovered second Ziegler sex video, sources say — A sex video involving Sarasota School Board member Bridget Ziegler and an unidentified woman has been recovered by police as part of the ongoing criminal investigation of a rape allegation made against Bridget's husband …

Discussion: Balloon Juice, Mock Paper Scissors and Raw Story

Abené Clayton / The Guardian:

California town proposes ban on Pride, Black and women's history celebrations — Far-right council members in Huntington Beach introduce agenda item to switch focus to US wars and America's independence — The southern California city of Huntington Beach, a bastion of conservative voters …

Discussion: Raw Story and Los Angeles Times

Matt Wilstein / The Daily Beast:

Joe Rogan Corrected On-Air for Blaming Trump Gaffe on Biden — The podcaster was caught off guard by a live fact-check from his own team that revealed it was Trump—not Biden—who made the gaffe in question. — Joe Rogan has done it again. But this time, even his own producers couldn't help …

Discussion: Mediaite, HuffPost, The Messenger and Raw Story

Politico:

Democrats sue New Hampshire over GOP-backed election law — President Joe Biden's campaign is supporting the legal challenge, which was first shared with POLITICO. — The Democratic National Committee is suing New Hampshire officials over a Republican-backed election law that it claims …

Discussion: The Messenger, Fox News and Election Law Blog

Alex Thompson / Axios:
Scoop: Biden campaign plots late push ahead of South Carolina primary

Discussion: New York Magazine, Fox News, Associated Press and The Messenger

Mary Ilyushina / Washington Post:

Raunchy celebrity party in Russia draws outrage over ‘nude illusion’ theme — RIGA, Latvia — A raunchy celebrity-filled party in Moscow has drawn the ire of Russian politicians and fervent Christian Orthodox activists who are urging law enforcement to punish the event's guests and organizers …

Discussion: Business Insider, The Messenger and Althouse

US Department of Justice:

New Hampshire Man Indicted for Threatening to Kill Three Presidential Candidates — For Immediate Release — A New Hampshire man has been indicted in connection with sending threatening text messages to three presidential candidates. — Tyler Anderson, 30, of Dover …

Discussion: The Messenger, Washington Examiner, IJR, Daily Caller News Foundation, NBC News, Axios, The Hill, New York Post, Politico and UPI

Chris Cameron / New York Times: Man Accused of Ramaswamy Death Threat Is Charged With Threatening Christie

Josh Fiallo / The Daily Beast:
Man Indicted for Allegedly Texting Death Threats to 3 GOP Candidates

Discussion: Associated Press, WHDH-TV and Raw Story

Alexander Tin / CBS News:

New COVID variant JN.1 surges to 44% of cases, CDC estimates — even higher in New York, New Jersey — The new COVID-19 variant that scientists call JN.1 now makes up about 44.1% of COVID-19 cases across the country, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated Friday …

Discussion: The Messenger, ABC7, NDTV, Forbes, NBC News, Deseret News, Metro.co.uk and Boston Herald

Ryan J. Reilly / NBC News:

Jan. 6 rioters the far right claimed were antifa keep getting unmasked as Trump supporters — Misinformation about the Capitol attack continues to go viral on the right, but the claims are slowly getting debunked, federal case by federal case. — WASHINGTON — In nearly three years since …

Discussion: Raw Story and Reason

Darren Samuelsohn / The Messenger:

Former Trump DOJ Official Jeff Clark Loses Fight to Halt His Georgia RICO Case Pending Appeal — A three-judge panel that included a pair of Trump appointees ruled on Thursday that Clark ‘cannot show any chance of success on the merits’ — Donald Trump's co-defendant and ex-Justice …

Discussion: Raw Story

Sarah Ellison / Washington Post:

Disqualifying Trump may be legally sound but fraught for democracy, scholars say — Experts say there's a strong basis for the Colorado Supreme Court's decision to bar Trump from the ballot, but the larger political context makes the question one of the thorniest in recent memory

Discussion: New York Times, Fox News, The Forward, Public, Althouse, The Post Millennial, Politico, Boston Herald and RedState

Adam Liptak / New York Times:
New Trump Cases Shadowed by Rocky Relationship With Supreme Court

Discussion: The Hill, Outside the Beltway, JONATHAN TURLEY, The Atlantic, Politico, FOX31 Denver, PBS NewsHour, WHDH-TV, Washington Post, SCOTUSblog, The Daily Caller, Associated Press, Washington Examiner, CBS News, CNN, Axios and NBC News

John Sexton / HotAir:
Washington Post Editorial Board: The Supreme Court Should Toss the Colorado Decision

Discussion: PJ Media, Sun-Sentinel, IJR, The Hill, New Yorker, Fox News, acecomments.mu.nu, New York Daily News and Raw Story

Adam Entous / New York Times:

Hunter Biden Text Cited in Impeachment Inquiry Is Not What G.O.P. Suggests — A 2019 message from the president's son alluded to giving his father half his salary. The back story offers unflattering insights into the Biden family but does not support assertions of corruption.

Discussion: IJR, Fox News and Raw Story

Isaac Stanley-Becker / Washington Post:

When her family needed money, Nikki Haley found a lucrative path — The candidate's public policy positions — hawkish and pro-business — created well-paid private opportunities when she abruptly resigned from government in 2018 — Nikki Haley was representing the United States on the world stage …

Discussion: Raw Story

Megan Brenan / Gallup:

Biden Ends 2023 With 39% Job Approval — WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Joe Biden's job approval rating is 39%, marking a slight improvement from the 37% low points in October and November but the fifth time his rating is below 40% in 2023. — ###Embeddable###

Discussion: NewsNation, The Messenger and The Hill

Russell Contreras / Axios:

U.S.-Mexico border closures could cost billions … - Republicans say the Biden administration needs to do more to address the issue, and former President Trump says he is “closing the border” as one of his first acts if he returns to office. … - After railway operations in Eagle Pass and El Paso …

Discussion: Washington Post, Washington Examiner, Semafor, BizPac Review, Associated Press, KSAT-TV, RedState, El País, Bloomberg and New York Post

Politico:

Crisis communicators face blowback after disastrous college hearing — Who got paid to give advice on one of the most disastrous public relations moments in modern memory? — The appearance of three elite university presidents on Capitol Hill this month to testify about campus antisemitism …

Discussion: Daily Caller News Foundation and Political Wire

Linda Greenhouse / New York Times:

A Forgotten Chapter of Abortion History Repeats Itself — Much of the country no doubt watched in amazement last week as a woman with a doomed pregnancy was forced to flee her home state, Texas, to get the abortion her doctors deemed necessary to protect her future ability to bear children.