Cut to the News
Cut through the clutter to today's top news
November 20, 2020
Good morning
Welcome to today's top news.
Leading the News . . .
Lobbyists try to weaken bill banning goods made with Chinese forced labor . . . Nike and Coca-Cola are among the major companies and business groups lobbying Congress to weaken a bill that would ban imported goods made with forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region, according to congressional staff members
and other people familiar with the matter, as well as lobbying records that show vast spending on the legislation. The bill, which would prohibit broad categories of certain goods made by persecuted Muslim minorities in an effort to crack down on human rights abuses, has gained bipartisan support, passing the House in September by a margin of 406 to 3. Congressional aides say it has the backing to pass the Senate, and could be signed into law by either the Trump administration or the
incoming Biden administration. But the legislation, called the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, has become the target of multinational companies including Apple whose supply chains touch the far western Xinjiang region, as well as of business groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. New York
Times
Welcome to the worst in corporate greed and swamp culture. China is persecuting an entire region of its country, but who wants to have to charge more on an iPhone?
Pfizer begins flying in vaccine . . . Charter flights bringing Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine to the United States from Belgium began on Friday, the start of what the Federal Aviation Administration calls the first "mass air shipment" of a coronavirus vaccine.
There are no authorized coronavirus vaccines in the U.S. yet, but preparations for distribution are ramping up. Under FDA rules, vaccine cannot be shipped to actual administration sites until it was been either licensed or authorized by FDA. USA Today
The press would be celebrating Obama as Jesus performing miracles if he got a vaccine done within ten months.
Pennsylvania state senator left meeting with Trump after positive test . . . A Pennsylvania state senator abruptly left a West Wing meeting with President Donald Trump after being informed he had tested positive for the coronavirus. Republican state Sen. Doug Mastriano had gone to the White House last Wednesday with like-minded Republican state lawmakers shortly after a four-hour-plus public meeting that Mastriano helped
host in Gettysburg — maskless — to discuss efforts to overturn president-elect Joe Biden’s victory in the state. Fox News
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Trump wonders: Where is DOJ and the FBI" Where is Durham? . . . President Donald Trump expressed frustration Sunday at the pace of Justice Department investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia probe, while praising a lawsuit that his former campaign aide Carter Page filed against the FBI and Justice Department on Friday as “good news.” “Where are they with Comey, with McCabe, with Brennan with all these people? They lied,
they leaked, they spied on our campaign,” Trump asked during an interview on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures.” He brought up an investigation led by U.S. Attorney John Durham into FBI and CIA intelligence-gathering activities related to the Trump campaign in 2016. Republicans had high hopes for Durham’s investigation when it started in April 2019, but have recently grown frustrated at a lack of public revelations from the probe. “What happened to Durham? Where’s Durham?” Trump asked.
Daily Caller
Barack Obama's frightening call for censorship . . . Have a close look here at what Barack Obama is saying. Obama says in an Atlantic interview he wants to curb the free flow of information because it spreads a lot of ideas he finds disagreeable. He proposes a partnership between government and the tech industry to weed out “false” information. He uses the QAnon conspiracy theory as an example, but it’s clear he has larger things in mind, pointing
to other “crazy lies and conspiracy theories.” I’m no QAnon believer. But the frightening thing here is that Obama and the rest of the liberals and the left, including those who control the tech industry, believe that conservative ideas are lies, or are “intolerant” of a variety of groups that support Democrats. White House
Dossier
Biden breaks his foot . . . Joe Biden sustained hairline fractures in his right foot and will likely require a walking boot for weeks, his doctor said after the president-elect slipped and twisted his ankle on Saturday while playing with his dog, Major. The injury raises the possibility that Biden will be wearing some sort of brace on Inauguration Day, which follows a campaign during which Biden and President Trump questioned each other's mental
and physical fitness to hold office. Washington Examiner
Gooood dog.
It's a joke.
Trump pushes to keep illegal immigrants out of redistricting . . . The Trump administration will press its bid to exclude illegal aliens from the population baseline for awarding House seats on Monday in the Supreme Court, a move that would shift political clout away from states with large undocumented populations. Trump's July order to exclude illegal aliens from the apportionment could be one of his most consequential acts in office. States
like California, where approximately 6 percent of the population is undocumented, will lose out on congressional seats and untold millions in federal funds if the administration prevails. Washington Free Beacon
Harris slamed for supporting small businesses after backing protestors . . . Vice President-elect Kamala Harris was widely slammed on Twitter this weekend for committing to helping small businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic despite having openly supported protesters at the height of social unrest over the summer. “Small businesses, especially Black and minority-owned businesses, urgently need relief to survive the
effects of coronavirus this winter,” Harris, 56, tweeted on Saturday. Twitter users were quick to compare Harris’ post to one she made in June. “If you’re able to, chip in now to the @MNFreedomFund to help post bail for those protesting on the ground in Minnesota,” Harris tweeted on June 1. Fox News
Biden chooses Jen Psaki to be press secretary . . . President-elect Joe Biden has named Jen Psaki as the public face of his incoming administration. Prior to accepting the high-profile role of press secretary, Psaki was former President Barack Obama's communications director and is the lead press liaison for the Biden transition. Joining Psaki in Biden's all-women communications leadership is Kate Bedingfield, who was his deputy campaign manager
and communications director. She'll serve as White House communications director. Washington Examiner
Biden fills out economic team . . . President-elect Joe Biden intends to nominate a team of liberal and centrist economic advisers to serve alongside planned Treasury Secretary nominee Janet Yellen, people familiar with his plans said Sunday, as he prepares to confront the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Mr. Biden has chosen Neera Tanden, head of the Center for American Progress, a center-left think tank, to serve as director
of the Office of Management and Budget. The former vice president has picked Cecilia Rouse, a Princeton University labor economist, to be chairwoman of the Council of Economic Advisers, these people said. Wall Street Journal
With liberal Tanden in charge, OMB to be renamed "Office of not Managing the Budget.
Melania to settle scores in book . . . Sources exclusively tell Page Six that usually private Melania Trump has been taking meetings about penning a tome on her time as first lady. “Melania is in meetings to write her White House memoir,” an insider said. “And it would be her money — a chance for her to earn on her
own.” The source added, “I’m told her husband is encouraging her” to pen the book. “She’s not done, or going as quietly as you might expect.” Plus, “in the wake of Stephanie Winston Wolkoff’s betrayal, in both print and on secret tapes, Melania’s story could be worth big money.” Wolkoff was once Melania’s best friend and adviser who published the tell-all “Melania and Me” in September. New York Post
Video || Protestors ruin spot by chanting "CNN sucks" . . . I mean, you know, objectively, they have a point. Even if you are just talking about the ratings. Nice to see this going down while the host is the sanctimonious, pretend-objective liberal Brianna Keilar. Look how
mad she is at people I’m sure she would conceive of as “deplorables.” White House Dossier
Congress returns to push through funding bill, possible Covid relief . . . After months of shadowboxing amid a tense and toxic campaign, Capitol Hill's main players are returning for one final, perhaps futile, attempt at deal-making on a challenging menu of year-end
business. COVID-19 relief, a $1.4 trillion catchall spending package, and defense policy dominate a truncated two- or three-week session occurring as the coronavirus pandemic rockets out of control in President Donald Trump's final weeks in office. Daily Mail
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Iranian nuclear scientist was killed by remote control . . . The sound of bullets hitting Mr. Fakhrizadeh’s car made the scientist get out of the vehicle. He was then showered with bullets from a remote-controlled automatic machine gun mounted on a Nissan pickup truck parked some
150 yards ahead, Fars reported on Sunday. Seconds later, explosives planted inside the unmanned Nissan exploded. Mr. Fakhrizadeh was transferred first to a local clinic, then to a Tehran hospital by helicopter, where he died, according to Fars. There is broad agreement that the killing of Mr. Fakhrizadeh removed a manager with unparalleled knowledge of Iran’s past work and current capabilities. Wall Street Journal
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UK vaccine rollout could be just days away . . . The UK has secured 2 million more doses of the Moderna’s promising coronavirus vaccine as the country prepares for the launch of its COVID-19 inoculation program, health officials announced Sunday. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson wrote in the Mail on Sunday that the country’s vaccine roll-out could be “just days away.” New York Post
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Black Friday a bust for stores . . . U.S. shoppers went online to purchase holiday gifts and score Black Friday deals they once crowded into malls to grab, as the coronavirus pandemic accelerated the yearslong remaking of the U.S. retail landscape. Roughly half as many people visited stores on Black Friday as they did last year, according to research firms that track foot traffic. Meanwhile, online spending jumped 22% from a
year ago, making it the second-best online shopping day ever measured by Adobe Analytics. Wall Street Journal
Dow on track for best month in 30 years . . . Stocks have soared in November, at one point pushing the Dow over 30000 for the first time and putting the benchmark on course for potentially its biggest one-month advance since January 1987. Shares in companies that had suffered most from the pandemic, such as energy producers and banks, have posted steep gains. Wall Street Journal
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Monolith mystery deepens as Utah desert object vanishes . . . The mysterious, shiny monolith that was spotted in a remote southeastern Utah desert two weeks ago is gone. A state crew that buzzed through the wilderness, counting bighorn sheep from a helicopter, found the alien-looking object on Nov. 18 and touched off international sci-fi speculation, harkening to the classic Stanley Kubrick 1968 film, “2001: A Space
Odyssey.” In the Kubrick movie, an alien monolith is a recurring symbol that appears to play a role in the development of human evolution. Reuters
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Mike Tyson smoked pot before his fight against Roy Jones Jr. . . . Mike Tyson said he smoked marijuana right before he fought Roy Jones Jr. Saturday night in his celebrated return to the boxing ring at the age of 54. "Absolutely, yes," he said during his post-fight press conference. Tyson and Jones fought to a draw in an eight-round exhibition match at Staples Center as scored by three former WBC champions.
"Listen, I can’t stop smoking," he said. "I smoked during fights. I just have to smoke, I’m sorry. I’m a smoker. … I smoke everyday. I never stopped smoking." USA Today
I'm the same way. I always smoke pot before my big fights.
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Keith Koffler
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