If you were thinking about making an apology, Breitbart, which you definitely were not, forget about it. Sherrod no longer wants one. [AP via HuffPo]
biden administration
Joe Biden’s Cabinet Begins to Take Shape
THE FEED
new york city
New York City to Begin Phased Reopening of Schools
The coddled dear leader
Sequestered in the White House and brooding out of public view after his election defeat, rageful and at times delirious in a torrent of private conversations, Trump was, in the telling of one close adviser, like “Mad King George, muttering, ‘I won. I won. I won.’ ”
However cleareyed Trump’s aides may have been about his loss to President-elect Joe Biden, many of them nonetheless indulged their boss and encouraged him to keep fighting with legal appeals. They were “happy to scratch his itch,” this adviser said. “If he thinks he won, it’s like, ‘Shh . . . we won’t tell him.’ ” …
In the days after the election, as Trump scrambled for an escape hatch from reality, the president largely ignored his campaign staff and the professional lawyers who had guided him through the Russia investigation and the impeachment trial, as well as the army of attorneys who stood ready to file legitimate court challenges.
Instead, Trump empowered loyalists who were willing to tell him what he wanted to hear — that he would have won in a landslide had the election not been rigged and stolen — and then to sacrifice their reputations by waging a campaign in courtrooms and in the media to convince the public of that delusion.
the national interest
‘Republicans Remain Opposed to Any Policies That Would Reduce Fossil-Fuel Use’
international affairs
What We Know About the Assassination of Iran’s Top Nuclear Scientist
frontlines
Covid Is Surging, But There’s No More Hazard Pay for Retail Workers
unhappy holidays
Why Does It Take Six Hours to Get a COVID Test in New York?
countdown
Here’s What Lame-Duck Trump Might Do
clemency
Trump Pardons Michael Flynn in End-of-Term Attack on Russia Investigation
You didn’t think Trump would let us have a relaxing holiday weekend, did you?
It is my Great Honor to announce that General Michael T. Flynn has been granted a Full Pardon. Congratulations to @GenFlynn and his wonderful family, I know you will now have a truly fantastic Thanksgiving!
—@realDonaldTrump
Things are going well for the president
So, to be clear, Trump is currently phoning into a Republican-led hearing at a Wyndham hotel in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania – a state that has certified its results and a Biden victory – to dispute Biden’s election victory.
“This election was lost by the Democrats,” he says.
—@josh_wingrove
“This election was lost by the Democrats,” he says.
street view
New York’s Approval System for New Building Is a Recipe for Mediocrity
Trump still focusing on the important stuff
The “losers & suckers” statement on dead military heroes has been proven to be a total fabrication and lie. IT WAS NEVER MADE! The “anonymous” fabricator, who is a major sleaze, went forward with the lie despite 25 strong witnesses to the contrary. Welcome to the roaring 20’s!
—@realDonaldTrump
now tell us who funds you
To the Salt Mines With Ye, Ben Domenech
Some bad news for everyone looking forward to a repeat of Giuliani’s “meltdown” last week
President Trump on Wednesday canceled his trip to Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where he was scheduled to join his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani for a Republican-led state Senate Majority Policy Committee hearing on alleged election irregularities.
… The cancellation comes after Giuliani was exposed to a second person who tested positive for the coronavirus. It’s unclear if that’s the reason the trip was cancelled.
Ya think?
This is about as close as Mayor de Blasio gets to an apology on schools reopening: “We didn’t have a Plan B and we should have had a Plan B.”
He says the city was trying to avert hitting 3 percent threshold. “In retrospect, clearly it would’ve been better” to have a Plan B.
—@emmagf
He says the city was trying to avert hitting 3 percent threshold. “In retrospect, clearly it would’ve been better” to have a Plan B.
politics
Losing Hasn’t Changed Trump’s Stance on White Supremacy
This does not bode well for Biden’s dreams of returning to the days of Senate bipartisanship
Some Republican senators have publicly acknowledged Democrat Joe Biden is the president-elect. Others have moved straight to criticizing his early Cabinet picks, even as President Trump continues to dispute the outcome of the Nov. 3 election.
But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), three weeks after Election Day, has still not said much of anything at all.
McConnell’s ongoing silence, even as the Trump administration moves to allow Biden to start his transition, leaves a question mark over what could be the most important Washington relationship of the next two years — between an incoming president who promised to tackle the nation’s most pressing concerns and the win-at-all-costs Capitol Hill operator who may well serve as his legislative gatekeeper.
The two men — Senate colleagues for 24 years and sparring partners in several high-stakes negotiations during Biden’s time as vice president — still have not spoken since the election, according to a GOP aide who spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk frankly.
the economy
Jobless Claims Rise Again As Virus Surges
Trump was reportedly dissuaded in recent weeks from striking Iran, but Israel still wants to be prepared
The Israel Defense Forces have in recent weeks been instructed to prepare for the possibility that the U.S. will conduct a military strike against Iran before President Trump leaves office, senior Israeli officials tell me.
… The Israeli government instructed the IDF to undertake the preparations not because of any intelligence or assessment that Trump will order such a strike, but because senior Israeli officials anticipate “a very sensitive period” ahead of Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20.
third wave
‘We Saw it Coming. We Should Have Been Better at This.’
fox news
Fox News Settles With Seth Rich’s Family After Promoting Conspiracy on His Death
coronavirus
U.S. Surpasses 2,000 COVID-19 Deaths in a Day for First Time Since May
1927-2020
David Dinkins Deserved Better
new york
New York Democrats Gain Veto-Proof Majority in State Senate
coronavirus vaccine
CDC Director: COVID Vaccine May Be Ready for Nursing-Home Residents in December
The wheels are in motion
CONFIRMED: Biden transition is now in talks with all federal agencies, transition official tells @Forbes
—@AndrewSolender
politics
We’ll Soon Be Rid of Steve King — But Not His Demagoguery
But what about alienating our allies for no good reason?
USUN nominee Linda Thomas-Greenfield: “America is back. Multilateralism is back. Diplomacy is back”
—@jeneps
Wall Street does not exactly seem upset about Biden’s victory
NEW YORK (AP) — Dow Jones Industrial Average trades above 30,000 points as stocks continue to climb on vaccine hopes, Biden transition.
—@JonLemire
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