memeorandum: Moderna to seek emergency FDA authorization for coronavirus vaccine (Zachary Brennan/Politico)

9:10 AM ET, November 30, 2020

Top Items:

Joe Biden Fills Out His Economic Team — President-elect's picks include Neera Tanden to head the Office of Management and Budget and Cecilia Rouse to chair the Council of Economic Advisers — WASHINGTON—President-elect Joe Biden intends to nominate a team of liberal and centrist economic advisers …

Discussion: Glenn Greenwald, Daily Kos, The Week, The Daily Beast, Common Dreams, NBC4 Washington, The Hill, Associated Press, Political Wire, Townhall, NBC News, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Washington Examiner, Forbes, Breitbart, Mediaite, Reuters and Marginal REVOLUTION

Washington Post:

Biden hires all-female senior communications team, names Neera Tanden director of OMB — WILMINGTON, Del. — Jennifer Psaki, a veteran Democratic spokeswoman, will be Joe Biden's White House press secretary, one of seven women who will fill the upper ranks of his administration's communications staff.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Townhall, Associated Press, Columbia Journalism Review, The Week, The Guardian, The Federalist, Fox News, USA Today, The Hill, Business Insider, Talking Points Memo and Axios

Transition / President-Elect Joe Biden:

President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris Announce Members of White House Senior Communications Staff — WASHINGTON - President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris today announced new members of the White House staff who will serve in senior communications roles.

Discussion: NPR, Althouse, RedState, Breitbart, CNBC, IJR and UPI

Politico:

POLITICO Playbook: The lame-duck checklist — DRIVING THE DAY — THIS MAY BE THE ONLY FULL WEEK both the House and Senate will be in D.C. for the lame-duck session of Congress. And the backdrop is grim: The pandemic is hitting its height, the economy is showing some signs of struggle, and society is, again, being tested.

Discussion: Associated Press, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times and Florida Politics

NBC News:
Biden to receive his first presidential daily briefing

Discussion: MSNBC

Ben White / Politico:
Deese to be Biden's top White House economic adviser

Discussion: The Hill, Crooks and Liars and Axios

Errin Haines / The 19th:
Women lead communications teams for Biden and Harris

Discussion: CNN, Deadline, PinkNews, CBS News, Bloomberg, One America News Network, New York Post and Reuters, more at Mediagazer »

Bloomberg:
Biden to Name Tanden as Budget Chief, Likely Riling GOP

Discussion: New York Times, CBS News and Politico

Ben Smith / New York Times:

The King of Trump TV Thinks You're Dumb Enough to Buy It — Chris Ruddy, the C.E.O. of Newsmax, has found a business opportunity in feeding Trump supporters the fantasy that the president could still win the election. — In 2004, Hillary Clinton was in the Senate and Christopher Ruddy had some making up to do.

Amanda Carpenter / The Bulwark:
The GOP Is a Propaganda Party

Discussion: Washington Post

Alexis Benveniste / CNN:
Fox News' Maria Bartiromo gave Trump his first TV interview since the election. It was filled with lies

Discussion: USA Today, Slate, Washington Post, Daily Kos and Vanity Fair

Washington Examiner:

Biden's security picks a worrisome sign for Iran policy — Why on Earth would the United States rush to rejoin the unreformed 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or the Iran nuclear accord? — We have two observations here. — First, there should be no doubt that the Iran nuclear deal was an unmitigated failure.

Thomas L. Friedman / New York Times:

Dear Joe, It's Not About Iran's Nukes Anymore — Biden wants to reinstate the nuclear deal, but first he must confront the new Middle East. — With the assassination by Israel of Iran's top nuclear warhead designer, the Middle East is promising to complicate Joe Biden's job from day one.

Discussion: Bloomberg, Jewish Insider, Foreign Policy, The Dispatch and JNS.org

Wall Street Journal: Team Obama's Iran Illusions

Scott Pelley / CBS News:

Fired director of U.S. cyber agency Chris Krebs explains why President Trump's claims of election interference are false — Chris Krebs, a lifelong Republican, was put in charge of the agency handling election security by President Trump two years ago. When Krebs said the election …

Discussion: The Guardian, Washington Examiner, The Week, Mediaite, The Hill, Raw Story, Business Insider and Axios, more at Techmeme »

Zachary Brennan / Politico:

Moderna to seek emergency FDA authorization for coronavirus vaccine — Moderna will file Monday for an emergency authorization of its coronavirus vaccine from the Food and Drug Administration, becoming the second company to do so. — The vaccine developer said it would simultaneously ask …

Discussion: New York Post

Berkeley Lovelace Jr / CNBC:
Moderna says new data shows Covid vaccine is more than 94% effective, plans to ask FDA for emergency clearance later Monday

Discussion: CNN, TechCrunch, NPR, National Review, Forbes, STAT and UPI

Tyler Van Dyke / Washington Examiner:
Moderna to ask FDA for emergency use authorization

Discussion: Politico

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

Donald Trump Jr. aides launch super PAC as Georgia worries mount — Advisers to Donald Trump Jr. are launching a super PAC to prod the president's supporters to vote in the upcoming Georgia Senate runoffs, as Republicans grow concerned that Trump's backers will boycott the elections.

Discussion: Vox, HotAir, The Daily Beast, Raw Story, The Dispatch, RedState, Political Wire, Conservative News Today and The Hill

Associated Press:
Faith takes the forefront as Georgia Senate runoffs heat up

Discussion: Washington Examiner

Rick Wilson / The Daily Beast:

We Won't Forget and We Won't Forgive What Trumpists Did to America — It's not enough to merely enjoy their agony and humiliation. It's not enough to hope they'll be shamed and correct their behavior. Have you not met these people? — BEAST INSIDE … The dark is rising for Trump's sycophants, toadies and enablers.

Discussion: Raw Story

Politico:

Trump administration leaves states to grapple with how to distribute scarce vaccines — The Trump administration is shunting to the states hard decisions about which Americans will get the limited early supplies of coronavirus vaccines — setting up a confusing patchwork of distribution plans …

Discussion: Washington Examiner and Raw Story

Lily Wakefield / PinkNews:

Anti-LGBT+ Christian activist claims Joe Biden is forming a ‘transgender atheist army’ — An anti-LGBT+ Christian activist and former Republican lawmaker has claimed that president elect Joe Biden is forming a “transgender atheist army”. — Gordon Klingenschmitt is a former Navy chaplain …

Fran McNulty / RTÉ:

UK potato import ban could affect ‘chipper chips’ taste — A possible post-Brexit ban on the importation of potatoes from the UK could affect supplies in Ireland next year. — From 1 January, UK table potatoes and seed potatoes could fall foul of EU food safety rules.

Mike Dunford / The Bulwark:

The ‘Kraken’ Lawsuit Was Released And It's Way Dumber Than You Realize — Readingitisguaranteedtogiveyouaheadache . — Every time you think you have a grasp of how preposterous the Trump team's election lawsuits are, another one comes out, dumber and more conspiracy-filled than the last.

Marianne LeVine / Politico:

'They'll freeze them out': Democrats fear Senate Republicans will block Biden's judges — It's not just the Senate majority on the line in Georgia's runoffs. It's also Joe Biden's chance to reshape the courts. — Should Senate Republicans win the fight to keep their majority …

Discussion: Washington Examiner

Molly McCann / The American Mind:

The Big Tech Occupation — Technocrats are imposing foreign law on American jurisdictions. — Big Tech has infiltrated the American homeland and is imposing speech laws that resemble those of Europe, challenging the authority and longevity of the First Amendment.

Jonathan Easley / The Hill:

Democrats seek new identity in post-Trump era — Democrats say they're in need of serious course corrections to stay competitive in future elections, warning the party may no longer be able to rely on anger at President Trump to drive voters to the polls. — Top liberals interviewed …

Discussion: Bloomberg

Megan Brenan / Gallup:

Biden's Favorability Rises to 55%, Trump's Dips to 42% — WASHINGTON, D.C. — President-elect Joe Biden's favorability rating has risen six percentage points to 55% since the election compared with his final preelection reading. At the same time, President Donald Trump's favorability has edged down three points to 42%.

Discussion: The Hill and The Atlantic

Mark Scolforo / Associated Press:

Source: Pa. lawmaker gets a positive test at Trump meeting — HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A Pennsylvania state senator abruptly left a West Wing meeting with President Donald Trump after being informed he had tested positive for the coronavirus, a person with direct knowledge of the meeting told The Associated Press on Sunday.

Discussion: Alternet.org, Twitchy, The Hill and Law & Crime

Daniella Peled / Haaretz:

U.K. Labour Party Leadership Urges Members to ‘Get Real’ About Confronting Antisemitism — In a conference hosted by the Jewish Labour Movement, party leader Keir Starmer and his deputy Angela Rayner continued their efforts to repair the damages of the Corbyn era

Mia Jankowicz / Business Insider:

A group of incoming GOP House members, calling themselves the ‘Freedom Force,’ are trying to counter Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's ‘Squad’ … - A group of incoming Republican House members are banding together in a bid to recreate the buzz around the “Squad,” the Democratic Party's cohort of progressive representatives elected in 2018.

Discussion: CNN, RedState and New York Post

Ally Mutnick / Politico:

The House members already facing the redistricting chopping block — The 2020 elections were ugly. The redistricting battles of the next two years will be even more brutal. — The decennial process will produce hundreds of new congressional districts, turning safe seats …

Douglas Schoen / The Hill:

Joe Biden would rescue world alliances with Antony Blinken — Joe Biden nominated Antony Blinken, who is a former deputy secretary of state under Barack Obama and an advocate for world alliances, to the role of secretary of state. The decision indicates that the next administration …