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

9:40 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 …

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, The Federalist, Poynter, Breitbart, Townhall, Associated Press, Columbia Journalism Review, The Week, The Guardian, Fox News, USA Today, The Hill, Business Insider, Talking Points Memo and Axios, more at Mediagazer »

Tom Jones / Poynter:

President Trump's interview is an embarrassing low mark for him, Fox News and, especially, interviewer Maria Bartiromo — Once a respected journalist and top business reporter, Bartiromo has seemingly sold her journalistic soul to become a sycophant for President Trump.

Discussion: HuffPost, The Week and Washington Post

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

NBC News:

Biden to receive his first presidential daily briefing — WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden on Monday will receive his first presidential daily briefing since winning the 2020 election after the Trump administration delayed approving the transition process.

Discussion: MSNBC

Anita Kumar / Politico:
Behind Trump's final push to limit immigration

Discussion: National Review

ABC News:
The Note: Deadlines and dead ends pile up losses for Trump

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Los Angeles Times, The Atlantic and PinkNews

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

Discussion: The Hill, New York Times, HEATED, Crooks and Liars and Axios

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 — Media parasites have taken control of the host. — Cymothoa exigua is a terrifying creature. — The parasite enters a fish through its gills, attaches to its tongue, consumes the tongue, and then becomes a sort of new tongue.

Discussion: Raw Story and 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

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 — Moderna said it will request emergency clearance from the FDA for its coronavirus vaccine after new data confirms the vaccine is more than 94% effective in preventing Covid-19 and was safe.

Discussion: CNN, TechCrunch, NPR, National Review, The Week, STAT, Forbes and CBS Boston

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

Discussion: HotAir and New York Post

Jon Cohen / Science:
‘Absolutely remarkable’: No one who got Moderna's vaccine in trial developed severe COVID-19

Discussion: USA Today, Raw Story and UPI

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

Discussion: Politico

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

Washington Examiner: Biden's security picks a worrisome sign for Iran policy

Financial Times:
Machine guns and a hit squad: the killing of Iran's nuclear mastermind

Discussion: CBS News, Jewish Insider, Associated Press, One America News Network, Wall Street Journal and New York Times

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 »

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.

Mark Berman / Washington Post:

Hannah Knowles and By Hannah Knowles — National reporter covering law enforcement and criminal justice — Samuel Little guided his car to a stop in a secluded area off Route 27 near Miami and cut the engine. Before long, Mary Brosley had straddled his lap. He started playing with her necklace.

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

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

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

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

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.

Charles Fain Lehman / Washington Free Beacon:

American High Schools Go Woke — Consultants cash in on radical changes to curricula nationwide — In July, the leadership of Los Angeles's elite Harvard-Westlake School issued a 20-page confessional about the school's role in perpetuating “racism and injustice” and promised changes.

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

Edward-Isaac Dovere / The Atlantic:

The Mastermind Behind Biden's No-Drama Approach to Trump — When Julián Castro wasn't given a speaking slot at the Democratic National Convention in August, he complained that Joe Biden's campaign wasn't showing proper respect to Latino voters. The real explanation for the snub is much simpler …

Andrew L. Yarrow / USA Today:

Biden has white men to thank for putting him in the White House — While Trump made surprising gains in other demographics, Biden made unexpected gains among white male voters in the election. Here is how he keeps them. — President-elect Joe Biden has white men to thank.

Discussion: The Federalist and Informed Comment

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