TOP STORIES

‌

Wednesday, December 16

‌

VACCINE ROLLOUT EXPANDS The United States expanded its rollout of the newly approved COVID-19 vaccine to hundreds of additional distribution centers, inoculating thousands more health care workers in a mass immunization expected to reach the general public in the coming months. Political leaders and medical authorities have launched a media blitz avowing the safety of the vaccines while urging Americans to maintain social distancing and mask-wearing. [Reuters]

‌

MCCONNELL TO GOP: DON'T FORCE 'TERRIBLE VOTE' ON TRUMP Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) urged GOP senators not to object to Congress’ formal certification of the Electoral College vote next month prior to President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration. An objection would force a “terrible vote” on Senate Republicans by putting them in a position of having to oppose President Donald Trump, McConnell said on a private conference call with his members. [HuffPost]

‌

TRUMP PUSHING TO ADVANCE HUNTER BIDEN INVESTIGATION 

Trump is considering pushing to have a special counsel appointed to advance a federal tax investigation into Hunter Biden, setting up a potential showdown with incoming acting attorney general Jeffrey Rosen. Trump has consulted on the matter with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, White House counsel Pat Cipollone and outside allies. [AP]

• How long does the coronavirus vaccine take to work?
• Should I freeze my eggs during the pandemic?
• Six red flags you're dealing with situational depression.
• The funniest marriage tweets to get you through the week.
• How to invest in the rising stock market when you don't have a lot of money.
• These are the wedding trends you can expect to see in 2021.
• What a "minimal" COVID Christmas actually looks like.

Get the latest coronavirus updates on our dedicated page

CHICAGO MAYOR TRIED TO BLOCK VIDEO OF COPS CUFFING NAKED WOMAN Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s lawyers lost an emergency motion in federal court to block a local news station from airing body camera footage of police raiding the wrong home with guns drawn and handcuffing a distressed, naked woman. CBS2-TV broadcast the footage of officers forcing their way into the home of Anjanette Young nearly two years ago. The 50-year-old clinical social worker had just finished her shift at a hospital when a group of male officers broke down her door with a battering ram. [HuffPost]

‌

PELOSI, MCCONNELL FINALLY MEET ON COVID RELIEF Top congressional leaders met Tuesday for the first time in months, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) spoke with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on the phone for more than an hour -- both hopeful signs that an agreement on coronavirus relief is drawing closer. Mitch McConnell has insisted on a provision to bar lawsuits by people who say they were negligently exposed to coronavirus -- but says he'll drop it if Democrats drop a boost for state budgets. [HuffPost]

‌

GEORGIA RUNOFF SHATTERS EARLY VOTING RECORDS With three weeks left before polls close in two U.S. Senate runoff elections in Georgia that will determine the balance of power in Washington, a record number of early voters cast their ballots in person in multiple counties. Election officials in Richmond County, which includes Augusta, said one of the county’s major voting centers recorded 2,022 in-person voters by 5 p.m. on Monday, marking a single-day record for early voting. [HuffPost]

WHAT'S BREWING

‌

BIDEN FLESHES OUT CABINET Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) is the front-runner to be Biden’s nominee for interior secretary, a source told HuffPost. Biden has tapped Obama-era Environmental Protection Agency chief Gina McCarthy as his domestic climate czar, and reportedly plans to nominate former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm to lead the Department of Energy. He has apparently chosen Pete Buttigieg, his former rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, to lead the U.S. Transportation Department. [HuffPost]

‌

PENCE FACT-CHECKED AFTER VACCINE COMMENT Vice President Mike Pence, who leads the White House coronavirus task force, drew widespread criticism on Twitter for hailing a vaccine for COVID-19 as a “medical miracle.” Critics called out Pence’s suggestion of divine intervention. “A miracle is something that cannot be explained by natural or scientific laws,” wrote one. “This vaccine was developed via hard work, intelligence, science, and perseverance. There was no magic involved.” [HuffPost]

‌

HOW PROGRESSIVES FAILED A KEY TEST IN THE HEARTLAND Kara Eastman was supposed to win this year. The polling was good, and she had come so close to winning the Omaha congressional seat in 2018. Progressives were eager to show that their ideas could win outside very blue areas. Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District, which includes Omaha and a rural area around a military base, was as good a place as any. But the vindication progressives had hoped for didn't materialize. [HuffPost]

‌

WILL LLOYD AUSTIN ANSWER FOR THIS OBAMA-ERA MISTAKE? Before Lloyd Austin was Biden’s pick for secretary of defense, he spent three years under President Barack Obama running America’s military operations in the Middle East. As the head of U.S. Central Command, the busiest of the Pentagon’s 11 sprawling combatant commands, Austin oversaw U.S. support for Saudi Arabia and its partners as they waged a brutal military campaign in Yemen, fueling the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. [HuffPost]

• What should I do about the abusive mom down the hall?
• Anna Wintour has long reigned supreme at Condé Nast. Now it's official.
• Banana bread or ventilators: Can anyone really describe daily life in a pandemic year?
• Mar-a-Lago neighbors to Trump: Spend your post-presidency elsewhere.
• Thailand partners with Tinder for matchmaking tips.
• Toxic positivity is on the rise. Are you spreading it?
• How QAnon's lies are hijacking the national conversation.
• The many strange long-term symptoms of COVID-19, explained.

BEFORE YOU GO