Dec. 11, 2020, 9:15 AM EST

By Chuck Todd, Mark Murray, Carrie Dann and Melissa Holzberg

WASHINGTON —You have a deadly virus that’s grown out of control in this country. (In just the past week, more than 16,000 Americans have died, and the CDC director says we’re going to have more daily deaths than 9/11 over the next 60 to 90 days.)

You have congressional leaders who’ve been unable so far to come to any agreement on providing new economic relief to Americans who’ve been hurt by the coronavirus.

And you have a Republican Party that’s been split into two — Republicans who’ve come to accept that Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election, versus those who believe (falsely) that it was stolen from him. (And that divide is happening less than a month before the Georgia runoffs that will decide control of the Senate.)

What these three different stories all have in common is a lack of leadership, all starting with the president of the United States.

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https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/meet-the-press/there-s-common-thread-america-s-crises-president-who-s-n1250861

BY MORGAN GSTALTER - 12/11/20 08:41 AM EST

A two-day international business conference in Boston early in the pandemic was likely a super-spreader event that has been linked to as many as 300,000 coronavirus cases worldwide, according to a new scientific study released on Thursday.

The study, published in the journal Science by lead author Jacob Lemieux of Massachusetts General Hospital, found that the event is responsible for roughly 1.6 percent of all U.S. cases since the onset of the pandemic.

According to The Boston Globe, the Biogen conference was held at Boston Marriott Long Wharf Hotel between Feb. 26-27 with approximately 175 participants.

Attendees later boarded planes to destinations overseas and across the U.S but many began feeling sick days later. A public health investigation with contact tracing identified approximately 100 cases directly associated with the conference.

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https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/529788-boston-conference-in-february-linked-to-as-many-as-300000-coronavirus

A look at what several state supreme courts said about rejecting attempts to overturn Biden's election win

Savannah Behrmann
USA TODAY

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump and his legal team have insisted they have proof of widespread voter fraud and they would be successful in court, but those claims have been shot down at the state level and by the highest court in the land.

On Tuesday, the United States Supreme Court refused to stop Pennsylvania from finalizing President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the state, despite allegations from allies of Trump that the expansion of mail-in voting was illegal.

The action by the Supreme Court, which has a conservative majority and includes three justices named by Trump, came as states across the country are locking in the results that will lead to next week's Electoral College vote.

The court dismissed the case without a single justice dissent. It was a one-sentence denial.

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https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2020/12/11/supreme-courts-arizona-michigan-nevada-rejected-claims-voter-fraud/3869239001/

Oh, how great! our country hasn't gotten through the 2020 election yet...but Politico wants to stir the fires for the 2024 election!

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Biden has opted for seasoned technocrats over ambitious pols for key jobs, denying potential political rivals to Harris a political springboard.

By CHRISTOPHER CADELAGO and NATASHA KORECKI

12/11/2020 04:30 AM EST

Joe Biden hasn’t picked any of the nearly two dozen Democrats who ran against him to serve in his administration — and that bodes quite well for the former rival he did elevate as his No. 2, Kamala Harris.

Biden’s decision to forgo a Cabinet of ambitious pols in favor of a group heavy on seasoned loyalists and technocrats contrasts with Donald Trump and Barack Obama's appointment of next-generation officials to top posts. And it could deny a springboard to potential Harris competitors in 2024 if Biden decides to retire after one term rather than running for reelection in his 80s.

While several people around Biden and Harris were reluctant to speak publicly about a topic they view as taboo, they acknowledged Biden’s choices for top positions reinforce Harris’s status as president-in-waiting.

Biden has built an administration free of political threats to Harris.

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https://www.politico.com/news/2020/12/11/biden-cabinet-kamala-2024-444482

Source: RawStory


‘Save the USA!!!’ Trump suggests SCOTUS overturn election because Biden ‘will be a scandal plagued mess’

Published 1 min ago on December 11, 2020
By Brad Reed

President Donald Trump on Friday pushed the United States Supreme Court to overturn the 2020 presidential election on the supposed grounds that President-elect Joe Biden “will be a scandal plagued mess.”

Trump, apparently reacting to the news that Biden’s son, Hunter, is being investigated for potential tax fraud, wrote on Twitter that the Supreme Court would now be justified in stripping away the electoral votes from key swing states in order to give him a second term.

“Now that the Biden Administration will be a scandal plagued mess for years to come, it is much easier for the Supreme Court of the United States to follow the Constitution and do what everybody knows has to be done,” the president wrote. “They must show great Courage & Wisdom. Save the USA!!!”

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1337385736530780161

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Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/2020/12/save-the-usa-trump-suggests-scotus-overturn-election-because-biden-will-be-a-scandal-plagued-mess/

Source: Washington Post



Watchdog finds VA Secretary Robert Wilkie questioned the credibility of a House aide who reported a sexual assault at hospital

By Lisa Rein
Dec. 10, 2020 at 1:17 p.m. EST

Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie and his senior leaders openly questioned the credibility of a House aide who reported a sexual assault at the agency’s flagship hospital in the District, denigrating her and ascribing political motives to her claim, a report released Thursday found.

The tone Wilkie set with his senior staff and with reporters influenced the investigation into the veteran’s claim — and led to the agency’s failure to improve an inhospitable environment for women at the D.C. Medical Center, Inspector General Michael Missal found.

And instead of turning their attention to the hospital contractor that veteran Andrea Goldstein told authorities “bumped his entire body against mine and told me I looked like I needed a smile and a good time,” investigators found that VA’s senior leaders embarked on a campaign to discredit her. The contractor did not have credentials to enter the hospital and had been the subject of a previous sexual harassment complaint from a VA employee.

“Using denigrating remarks and questioning the credibility of a veteran who reported being sexually assaulted, and then failing to fully explore the facts, is...contrary to the ongoing missions of improving VA and of serving the veteran community with respect,” James Mitchell, deputy inspector general for special reviews, wrote.


Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/va-wilkie-assault-watchdog-ig/2020/12/10/f07be288-3ae2-11eb-9276-ae0ca72729be_story.html

Source: NBC


The bomber mission, which did not drop bombs, comes as the U.S. assesses there is a heightened chance of Iranian miscalculations, said a U.S. official.

Dec. 10, 2020, 8:49 AM EST / Updated Dec. 10, 2020, 10:53 AM EST
By Courtney Kube

WASHINGTON — The U.S. military flew two B-52H bombers from Louisiana to the Middle East Thursday, part of an ongoing effort to deter Iran from any aggressive actions, according to a statement from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).

The bomber mission, which flew through the region but did not drop any bombs, comes as the U.S. military believes there is a heightened chance for Iranian actions or miscalculations, according to a senior U.S. military official with knowledge of the region.

The two B-52H "Stratofortresses" flew from Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana on a roughly 36-hour mission that took them across Europe, through the northern Red Sea, across Saudi Arabia and into the Persian Gulf for a north to south transit. The mission included a counterclockwise loop around Qatar, all the time staying closer to the western side of the Arabian Gulf and outside Iranian airspace, according to the senior U.S. military official with knowledge of the region.

Aircraft from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Qatar flew with the U.S. planes during portions of the flight.



Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/u-s-flew-two-bombers-louisiana-over-persian-gulf-deter-n1250682

December 10, 2020 at 9:46 am EST By Taegan Goddard

South Dakota state Sen. Helene Duhamel (R), who earlier this week visited Gov. Kristi Noem’s (R) mansion for dinner, has tested positive for COVID-19, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reports.

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https://politicalwire.com/2020/12/10/lawmaker-who-dined-with-kristi-noem-tests-positive/

December 10, 2020 at 9:59 am EST By Taegan Goddard

The Trump administration repeatedly turned down the chance to order tens of millions of additional doses of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine — even once we understood its effectiveness, The Daily reports.

Michael Barbaro: “Warning: you will be mad by the end of the episode.”

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https://politicalwire.com/2020/12/10/white-house-repeatedly-turned-down-more-vaccine/

BY CELINE CASTRONUOVO - 12/10/20 09:16 AM EST

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Wednesday predicted that the number of newly reported coronavirus-related deaths will likely increase over the next month, with the potential for a total death count of up to 362,000 by Jan. 2.

The CDC made the prediction in its weekly “ensemble forecast,” which combines national and stave-level forecasts into an aggregate prediction on the state of COVID-19 over the next four weeks.

In this week’s forecast, the CDC predicted that in the week ending Jan. 2, the U.S. could see anywhere from 12,600 to 23,400 new deaths due to the virus.

This means that by this date, the country could reach a total of anywhere from 332,000 to 362,000 COVID-19 deaths.

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https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/529603-new-cdc-coronavirus-forecast-362000-dead-by-jan-2