December 18, 2020

'Bordering on sedition': Dem senator calls for sanctioning GOP lawmakers trying to overturn election

December 18, 2020

Chicago police union head facing firing over violent Facebook threats

Published 1 min ago on December 18, 2020By Tom Boggioni

According to a report from the Chicago Sun-Times, the head of the Chicago Fraternal Order of Police is facing termination from the police department due to a collection of threats he posted on his personal Facebook page.

Late Thursday night the chief administrator for the police board cleared the way for John Catanzara to be dismissed for more than a dozen comments he made on the social media platform over a period of years, that included threats to murder people (writing: “Wtf its [sic] seriously time to kill these motherf*ckers”) as well as writing Muslims are “savages they all deserve a bullet.”

According to the report, Catanzara “was one of the most frequently disciplined members of the department,” and was elected union head by the rank and file officers in 2020 at the same time he was on suspension.

With his fate in the hands of the full Chicago Police Board — and Police Superintendent David Brown recommending he only be suspended for a year — the officer blamed politics for the decisions, reports WGN.

more
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/12/chicago-police-union-head-facing-firing-over-violent-facebook-threats/

December 18, 2020

Irritated by loss, Trump hunkers down at the White House and avoids talk of future

DECEMBER 18, 20201:10 AMUPDATED 10 HOURS AGO

By Steve Holland, Jeff Mason

6 MIN READ


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Hunkered down in what one former White House official called the “presidential man cave” of the Oval Office, President Donald Trump does not want to talk about what lies ahead once he leaves office next month.

Several people familiar with the situation say he knows his time is up even as he presses the fight against the election outcome, despite having failed in a series of court challenges to overturn the results of the Nov. 3 election that made Democrat Joe Biden president-elect.

With Monday’s Electoral College vote certifying Biden’s win, White House staff members are looking for jobs and planning their post-administration futures. First lady Melania Trump has looked for a school in Florida, where the couple is expected to reside, for their son Barron, People magazine reported.

A source close to Trump says he does not want to talk about the future beyond his remaining days in office. Any suggestion that he begin laying the groundwork for another run for president in 2024 is shunted aside, at least for now.

more
https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-trump/irritated-by-loss-trump-hunkers-down-at-the-white-house-and-avoids-talk-of-future-idUSKBN28S0JE

December 18, 2020

Supreme Court tosses challenge to Trump's immigrant census plan

Source: The Hill

BY JOHN KRUZEL - 12/18/20 10:20 AM EST

The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on Friday to dismiss a challenge to the Trump administration’s exclusion of undocumented immigrants from the U.S. census, the once-per-decade population count used to allocate House seats among the states.

The decision broke along ideological lines, with the court’s six conservative justices finding that the lawsuit brought by nearly two dozen states was premature. The court’s three more liberal members dissented.

Developing

Read more: https://thehill.com/regulation/530817-supreme-court-tosses-challenge-to-trumps-immigrant-census-plan?userid=57999

---

The article has been developed and is available here:
https://thehill.com/regulation/530817-supreme-court-tosses-challenge-to-trumps-immigrant-census-plan

December 18, 2020

Ex-Trump Official Says Biden Pick Will Be Tough on China

December 18, 2020 at 10:30 am EST By Taegan Goddard


“President-elect Joe Biden’s pick for his incoming administration’s top trade official will likely carry on a tough line against China, according to former Trump trade negotiator Clete Willems,” CNBC reports.

“Biden last week named Katherine Tai, a trade lawyer, as his choice for the U.S. trade representative — a critical Cabinet-level position tasked with enforcing U.S. import rules as well as negotiate trading terms with China and other countries.”

Said Willems: “Katherine Tai is an excellent choice for USTR and the right person for the moment.”

###

https://politicalwire.com/2020/12/18/ex-trump-official-says-biden-pick-will-be-tough-on-china/

December 18, 2020

Joe Biden Calls Ex-Friend Sen. Lindsey Graham a 'Personal Disappointment' For Failing...

Joe Biden Calls Ex-Friend Sen. Lindsey Graham a ‘Personal Disappointment’ For Failing to Acknowledge His Election Win

https://www.mediaite.com/biden/joe-biden-calls-ex-friend-sen-lindsey-graham-a-personal-disappointment-for-failing-to-acknowledge-his-election-win/

December 18, 2020

Senator-Elect Tommy Tuberville Threatens Electoral College Challenge When He Takes Office:...

Senator-Elect Tommy Tuberville Threatens Electoral College Challenge When He Takes Office: ‘You’ll See What’s Coming’

By Colby Hall
Dec 17th, 2020, 1:55 pm

Senator-elect Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) is a former college football coach, which is fair to say, was probably the most formative time in his experience dealing with the press. College football coaches are notorious for speaking in empty platitudes completely devoid of meaning. “Go out and do your best,” “Take it one game at a time,” and “I like what I saw today,” are just a few examples of coach-speak to reporters questions that…don’t really say anything.

So perhaps this is the most charitable explanation for Tuberville’s curious answer to a question posed to him after campaigning in support of Republican Senatorial candidates Kelly Loeffler and Davide Purdue in the Georgia run-off.

In a video captured and edited by Lauren Windsor, who runs a project called Under Current, Tuberville reiterates the notion of unfair elections, claiming “they’re going to steal it” in Georgia. He then suggested President Donald Trump’s claims of a “rigged” election has merit, saying “it’s impossible what happened,” and “we’re going to get that all corrected” before appealing to attendees to not give up on him.

After his stump speech, he is approached by someone with a smartphone recording, and asked if “y’all have tricks up your sleeve?” Tuberville replied “Well you see what’s coming. You’ve been reading about it in the House,” before adding “We’re going to have to do it in the Senate.”

https://twitter.com/lawindsor/status/1339580775566602240


https://www.mediaite.com/election-2020/senator-elect-tommy-tuberville-threatens-electoral-college-challenge-when-he-takes-office-youll-see-whats-coming/

December 18, 2020

Allen West goes biblical on Democrats moving to Texas from NY: 'Same as when God was destroying...

Allen West goes biblical on Democrats moving to Texas from NY: ‘Same as when God was destroying Sodom and Gomorrah’

https://twitter.com/revrrlewis/status/1339909951913922560

December 18, 2020

75 People and Counting Test Positive for COVID After North Carolina Church's Christmas Musical

The county health department identified the December 5 event as a superspreader, but the church had been holding packed events since the beginning of the pandemic.

Blake Montgomery
Reporter

A North Carolina church gathered congregants for a musical Christmas celebration earlier this month, and within a matter of days, at least 75 COVID-19 infections had been traced back to the event.

The Henderson County Health Department has linked a growing number of cases of the respiratory infection to one caroling event held at First Baptist Church of Hendersonville. The agency identified a holiday celebration held Dec. 5 at First Baptist as a superspreader event in a press release: “To date, the Health Department has identified 75 individuals who have tested positive as a result of the event.”

The church’s white classical facade and white steeple lean over the street, the tallest building in sight in the town of 14,000. Inside, vaulting ceilings echo with song. Too many songs, according to the public health department.

The impact of the event was immediately visible on the church’s Facebook page, where upbeat posts about the holidays and upcoming events quickly gave way to last-minute event cancellations and “special announcements” from the pastors about new COVID-19 cases among congregants. Senior Pastor Steve Scoggins, the grandfatherly head of the church, promised in a sermon to post video of the holiday musical celebration on the church’s Facebook page, but no such video was found on there following news of the COVID-19 outbreak.

more (Free)
https://www.thedailybeast.com/75-people-and-counting-test-positive-for-covid-after-first-baptist-hendersonvilles-christmas-musical?ref=home

December 18, 2020

Scoop: Pentagon halts Biden transition briefings

Source: Axios



28 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Mike Allen, Jonathan Swan

Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller ordered a Pentagon-wide halt to cooperation with the transition of President-elect Biden, shocking officials across the Defense Department, senior administration officials tell Axios.

Behind the scenes: A top Biden official was unaware of the directive. Administration officials left open the possibility cooperation would resume after a holiday pause. The officials were unsure what prompted Miller's action, or whether President Trump approved.

Why it matters: Miller's move, which stunned officials throughout the Pentagon, was the biggest eruption yet of animus and mistrust toward the Biden team from the top level of the Trump administration.

What happened: Meetings between President Trump's team and the Biden team are going on throughout the government, after a delayed start as the administration dragged its feet on officially recognizing Biden as president-elect.


Read more: https://www.axios.com/pentagon-biden-transition-briefings-123a9658-4af1-4632-a6e6-770117784d60.html