Giuliani hospitalized with Covid  . . . Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City and President Donald Trump’s personal attorney, has tested positive for COVID-19. Trump delivered the news by tweet, writing “Get better soon Rudy, we will carry on!!!” Giuliani, 76, was admitted to Georgetown University Medical Center on Sunday, two people who were aware of his condition. Andrew Giuliani tweeted that his father was "resting, getting great care and feeling well." USA Today

 

 

Alito orders Pa. to respond to GOP suit to toss out mail-in ballots . . . U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., ordered Pennsylvania officials to respond to Rep. Mike Kelly’s election challenge a day earlier than previously scheduled, which will be on the same day known as the safe harbor deadline. Kelly, a Republican, is seeking to have the court toss all the state’s mail-in ballots on the grounds that universal, no-excuses mail-in voting is unconstitutional and needs a constitutional amendment to authorize its provisions. The safe harbor deadline is the federal cutoff date for states to resolve any remaining election disputes and lock in their slate of electors for the Dec. 14 Electoral College vote. Fox News

 

 

Pollster says Biden win "statistically implausible" . . . President-elect Joe Biden's election victory wasn't a statistical impossibility but defied key measures according to pollster Patrick Basham. During a Fox News interview set to air Sunday night, Basham says non-polling metrics have a "100% accuracy rate in terms of predicting the winner of the presidential election," which includes party registration trends, number of individual donations, and Google searches. In an op-ed in the Spectator, Bashman analyzed "peculiarities" from the election that lacked "compelling explanations." He outlined counting without observers, late-arriving ballots, failure to match signatures on mail-in ballots, and low absentee ballot rejection rates. Washington Examiner

 

Ilhan Omar husband's firm got $500K in Covid bailout despite millions from her campaign . . . A D.C.-based consulting firm co-owned by Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar’s husband received millions from her campaign and was also eligible for more than $500,000 in coronavirus bailout money. Public records show that E Street Group, co-owned by Omar’s husband, Tim Mynett, received nearly $135,000 in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and $500,000 in Economic Injury Disaster loans. Campaign finance filings also show that the firm raked in millions during the 2020 campaign from Omar. Fox News

 

Jake Tapper compares Trump to venomous snake . . . CNN anchor Jake Tapper wrapped up Sunday’s broadcast of “State of the Union” with a fable that compared President Donald Trump to a venomous snake. Tapper appeared to put the blame on Republican officials, concluding with the question, “Did you not know who this man was when you took him in? “President Trump has been pushing lies and conspiracy theories for years that have made life more dangerous for all kinds of Americans,” Tapper began. Daily Caller

 

 

Intel chief Ratcliffe urges Durham to release interim report . . . John Ratcliffe, the director of national intelligence, urged U.S. Attorney John Durham on Sunday to release an interim report on his investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia probe, saying that the American public should have record of the investigation in case the Biden administration shuts it down. “I think the American people should know what’s happening in a two-year investigation into this and I hope that that report will be forthcoming,” Ratcliffe said. Daily Caller

 

 

Chris Wallace tells Azar to call Biden "president-elect" . . . Fox News anchor Chris Wallace interrupted Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on Sunday after Azar referred to Joe Biden as "vice president" rather than "president-elect." "We welcome Vice President Biden to the club," Azar said on "Fox News Sunday." "Since the middle of April ... the president's guidelines have called for —" 

Before Azar could finish, Wallace interjected, "He's the president-elect, sir. He's the president-elect." Azar did not respond to Wallace. The Hill

 

Warnock silent on court packing, Marxism in debate . . . Georgia Democratic Senate candidate Raphael Warnock dodged questions about packing the Supreme Court and declined to condemn Marxism in a debate Sunday night against Republican incumbent Kelly Loeffler. The two candidates sparred over economics and coronavirus policy during the hour-long debate, with Warnock accusing his opponent of using her office for personal gain and Loeffler repeatedly describing her Democratic challenger as a "radical liberal." Washington Free Beacon

 

Biden says son Hunter won't be involved in any conflicts of interest . . . Okay, why didn’t that happen when Biden was vice president? He can’t control his son, it’s obvious. Hunter Biden and his activities present a threat to national security in that he is bound to get himself into a situation that could lead to a foreign nation bribing the president. According to the Daily Mail: “Biden was asked about his son Hunter, who was accused of benefiting from business with Ukrainian and Chinese officials when Biden was vice president. “He said neither his son nor any family members would not be involved in any conflicts of interest while he sat in the Oval Office. White House Dossier

 

Biden to nominate Becerra to be HHS secretary . . . President-elect Joe Biden has made his selections for two key public health positions, sources said on Sunday, as he prepares to take office next month as the coronavirus pandemic rages to new levels across the United States. Biden plans to nominate California Attorney General Xavier Becerra as secretary of health and human services, two sources said, placing the Latino former congressman in a critical role battling the pandemic. Reuters 

 

Europe warns Iran after it expands nuclear program . . . France, Germany and Britain said on Monday they were alarmed by an Iranian announcement that it intended to install additional, advanced uranium-enriching centrifuges and by legislation that could expand its nuclear program. A confidential International Atomic Energy Agency report obtained by Reuters said Iran plans to install three more cascades, or clusters, of advanced IR-2m centrifuges in its enrichment plant at Natanz, which was built underground apparently to withstand any aerial bombardment. Reuters

 

US to sanction Chinese officials over Hong Kong crackdown . . . The United States is preparing to impose sanctions on at least a dozen Chinese officials over their alleged role in Beijing’s disqualification of elected opposition legislators in Hong Kong, according to three sources, including a U.S. official familiar with the matter. The move, which could come as soon as Monday, will target officials from the Chinese Communist Party as the Trump administration keeps up pressure on Beijing in his final weeks in office. President-elect Joe Biden takes over on January 20. New York Post

 

Protests erupt across France over surveillance bill . . . Protests turned destructive across France after President Emmanuel Macron's administration announced a bill that would expand the use of surveillance tools while restricting the ability of citizens to share images of police officers in the media. Thousands of French citizens poured into the city streets of Paris, Marseille, and Lille with signs that read “France, land of police rights” and “Withdrawal of the security law" after the government issued a ban on the sharing of images online “with the manifest aim to harm.” Washington Examiner

 

Covid relief bill near . . . With U.S. coronavirus deaths topping 281,000 and pressure mounting for aid to a fragile economy, lawmakers and their staff worked through the weekend to put the finishing touches on the COVID-19 package intended to help those facing the greatest need, according to Senate Republican aides. It would set new emergency assistance for small businesses, unemployed people, airlines and other industries during the pandemic. But lawmakers have opted not to include stimulus checks to individuals out of concern that a higher price tag could delay passage. Reuters

 

 

Four killed, 32 shot in Chicago over weekend . . . 

Chicago authorities reported a violent weekend that saw at least four people killed and 32 others wounded in shootings across the city. In the latest attack, a man was fatally shot on the city's Northwest Side on Sunday. Officers responded around 5:10 p.m. where they found a male unresponsive in a vehicle with multiple gunshot wounds, the Chicago Sun-Times reported. Fox News

 

But who cares? They weren't shot by white police.

 

San Diego teachers forced to attend white privilege training . . . Teachers in San Diego are reportedly being required to attend a 'white privilege' training in which they are asked to commit to becoming 'anti racist' and acknowledge that they meet on stolen land taken from Indigenous peoples. The training is mandatory for all teachers within the San Diego Unified School District. As part of the training, the teachers are told to discuss how they would feel if they were told: 'You are racist.' Daily Mail

 

Gun lawsuits flood in after Barrett joins Court . . . Gun-rights activists have filed a slew of new cases in hopes Justice Amy Coney Barrett's confirmation to the Supreme Court will lead to an expansion of gun protections. Groups like the Second Amendment Foundation, Firearms Policy Coalition, and National Rifle Association have filed numerous federal cases against restrictive gun laws across the country with the intention of taking as many as possible to the Supreme Court. They hope to not only strike down restrictive laws in places like Massachusetts, California, and New Jersey but also further clarify the reach of the Second Amendment. Washington Free Beacon

 

Sheep enters hotel, waits for elevator . . . A hotel in Wales shared video of a sheep that wandered into the building and was found standing in a hallway where it appeared to be waiting for the elevator. The Premier Inn in Holyhead posted a video to Facebook showing the sheep, nicknamed Sydney by hotel staff, standing just outside the elevator doors in a hallway. Employees said the sheep had escaped from a nearby field and entered the hotel through the automatic doors. The "sheepish looking guest" was safely returned to its owner, the hotel said. UPI