Cut to the News
Cut through the clutter to today's top news
December 24, 2020
Good morning
Welcome to today's top news.
Leading the News . . .
Trump pardons Manafort, Stone, and Jared Kushner's dad . . . President Trump on Wednesday pardoned Roger Stone and Paul Manafort, two associates convicted as part of former special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. Trump also granted a pardon to Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law and senior adviser Jared Kushner. Stone, a longtime Trump associate, was convicted in November 2019 by a
jury in Washington, D.C., of lying to Congress in connection with its separate investigation into Russian interference, witness tampering and obstructing an official proceeding. Trump commuted Stone's sentence in July days before he was set to report to prison. The full pardon came with a note from press secretary Kayleigh McEnany that stated Stone "was treated very unfairly." Manafort, who served as the chairman of Trump's 2016 campaign, was convicted in 2018 on bank fraud and
tax charges. He was sentenced to more than seven years in prison. Trump issued Manafort a "full and complete pardon," with McEnany arguing that his convictions were "premised on the Russian collusion hoax." The Hill
Sasse: "This is rotten to the core" . . . Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) on Wednesday blasted President Trump’s latest pardons of political allies such as former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and political adviser Roger Stone as “rotten to the core.” Sasse issued his statement Wednesday evening, specifically mentioning Manafort and Stone. “This is rotten to the core,” he said in a terse one-liner. The
statement by Sasse said that “felons like Manafort and Stone” had “flagrantly and repeatedly violated the law and harmed Americans.” The Hill
More than a million Americans vaccinated for Covid . . . More than a million Americans have received the first round of vaccinations for the coronavirus as of Wednesday at 9 a.m., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced. Over nine million coronavirus doses have been distributed and 1,008,025 doses have been administered. Daily Caller
Holiday travel surges despite outbreak . . . Millions of Americans are traveling ahead of Christmas and New Year’s, despite pleas from public health experts that they stay home to avoid fueling the raging coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 320,000 nationwide. Many people at airports this week thought long and hard about whether to go somewhere and found a way to rationalize it. Fox News
Kirk Cameron organizes California Christmas carol protest . . . About 100 people organized by former child star Kirk Cameron, many of them without masks or practicing social distancing, gathered in Southern California Tuesday night to sing Christmas carols. Cameron, 50, a devout Christian, promoted the event, which took place in a mall parking lot in Thousand Oaks, Calif., in advance on social media, just as he did with a previous
one on Dec. 13 touted as a "Christmas caroling peaceful protest." Cameron, who famously starred in the "Growing Pains" TV sitcom, organized the event apparently to protest Gov. Gavin Newsom's latest stay-at-home order. USA Today
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Trump throws Washington into chaos . . . Was he sent to Washington to do business as usual? I don’t think so. Don’t worry, we’ll have plenty of business as usual after January 20. From an article by the Wall Street Journal: President Trump vetoed a $740.5 billion defense-policy bill and demanded last-minute changes to coronavirus relief legislation, adding fresh uncertainty to the closing days of 2020 as a
government shutdown loomed. In a Wednesday afternoon statement on the defense measure released by the White House, Mr. Trump objected to some of the provisions related to the removal of Confederate base names and troop levels abroad, as well as the legislation’s lack of language revoking internet platforms’ broad immunity for the content they publish from users on their sites. White House Dossier
Biden education secretary pick seeks in-school learning . . . President-elect Joseph R. Biden introduced Miguel Cardona as his pick for education secretary Wednesday, declaring the public school chief from Connecticut to be “as American as apple pie and rice and beans.” The multicultural reference underscored Mr. Cardona’s Hispanic heritage and Mr. Biden’s determination to have the most diverse Cabinet in U.S. history. The
pick also signaled a dramatic pivot from the Trump administration in K-12 education. Washington Times
White House tells staff to start packing up, then reverses . . . The Trump administration circulated a set of instructions Tuesday evening to White House staff on how and when to pack up their offices ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration January 20 but then backtracked Wednesday morning, telling staff to await “updated” instructions “Please disregard the below message,” the follow up email reads. “Updated information will be
shared in the coming days.” Daily Caller
Eric Swalwell took the lead. Maybe Fang Fang put him up to it.
Federal judge blocks Trump diversity training ban . . . A federal judge has blocked Donald Trump's executive order restricting the federal government and its contractors from offering diversity training that the president labeled "divisive" and "un-American." U.S. District Judge Beth Labson Freeman granted a preliminary nationwide injunction in the lawsuit filed by LGBT rights groups in November in the Northern
District of California, saying the groups were likely to prevail on their First Amendment claims. USA Today
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Trump warns Iran against additional attacks . . . President Trump on Wednesday said the rockets that hit the US Embassy in Baghdad this week came from Iran — and that there was “chatter” about more attacks against Americans in Iraq. The president tweeted out photos of three rockets that had apparently failed to launch, writing “Guess where they were from: IRAN.” “Now we hear chatter of additional attacks
against Americans in Iraq…,” Trump wrote. “Some friendly health advice to Iran: If one American is killed, I will hold Iran responsible,” he warned. “Think it over.” New York Post
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Pakistani court orders release of Daniel Pearl killer . . . Pakistan's Sindh High Court on Thursday ordered the man charged in the 2002 murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl freed, his defense lawyer said. The court's order overturns a Supreme Court decision in September that Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh should remain in custody, while an appeal of his acquittal on charges he murdered Pearl is heard, said Mehmood A.
Sheikh, his lawyer. He called for Sheikh, who is no relation, to be released immediately. Fox News
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Laptop and desktop sales see renaissance . . . The world stocked up on laptop and desktop computers in 2020 at a level not seen since the iPhone debuted in 2007, and manufacturers still are months away from fulfilling outstanding orders, hardware industry executives and analysts said. Remote learning and working has upturned the computer market during the coronavirus pandemic, zapping sales of smartphones while boosting interest
in bigger devices, which had become afterthoughts to iPhones and Androids over the last decade. “The whole supply chain has been strained like never before,” said Gregg Prendergast, Pan-America president at hardware maker Acer Inc. Reuters
Bitcoin surges again . . . The digital currency, which has more than tripled in price this year, hit its first record of the year 24 days ago and has continued climbing, trading as high as $24,273 on Sunday. On Wednesday, it closed at $23,299. In previous rallies, such gains have quickly reversed course. Bitcoin bulls say the money fueling this year’s rally is coming from more reliable sources than past rallies. Wall Street Journal
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Deportations plunge amid pandemic . . . Homeland Security’s deportations plunged nearly 30% over the past year, officials said Wednesday, blaming the pressures of the pandemic for sapping them of the ability to find and oust immigrants who are in the country illegally. The 185,884 removals recorded by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during fiscal 2020 was the lowest since 2002, and leaves President Trump far below the pace set by
President Obama. ICE also announced its officers made 103,603 arrests in fiscal 2020, the lowest level in years and marking a massive drop from about 143,000 arrests made in 2019. Washington Times
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DC mayor declares Christmas Eve "Dr. Fauci Day" . . . Dr. Anthony Fauci has been mocked as the ‘Patron Saint of Wuhan’ in response to the Mayor of Washington DC proclaiming Christmas Eve to be ‘Dr. Fauci Day’ in the District to commemorate his 80th birthday. Mayor Muriel Bowser issued the proclamation on Wednesday, marking December 24, 2020 as a day dedicated to celebrating Fauci, a longtime DC
resident. 'Dr. Fauci has been a hero to our nation during this incredibly difficult year, working tirelessly to save lives and guide our nation’s response to and recovery from the pandemic,’ Bowser said in a statement. Daily Mail
Open mic catches LA deputy in act of hanky panky . . . An on-duty Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy allegedly had sex with a woman near the Bates Motel section of the Universal Studios lot — and accidentally left his microphone on for a dispatcher to hear a blow-by-blow of the sleazy romp. “Oh,” the giggling woman moans at one point. “Oh, my goodness!” A female dispatcher then alerts the deputy that he had an “open mic” as the
woman continues to moan and breathe heavily. “95 Ocean, you have an open mic,” the dispatcher implores the deputy to no avail as the woman continues to moan on the clip. “95 Ocean, you have an open mic — take care of mic.” New York Post
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Keith Koffler
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