Top Items:

Biden Chooses Antony Blinken, Defender of Global Alliances, as Secretary of State — The president-elect is also expected to name Jake Sullivan, another close aide of his, as national security adviser, and Linda Thomas-Greenfield, a 35-year Foreign Service veteran, as his ambassador to the U.N.
Discussion:
Vox, USA Today, Washington Examiner, Washington Post, CBS News, Crooks and Liars, Outside the Beltway, UPI, Al Jazeera, NPR, Japan Times, Business Insider, National Review, Axios, Balloon Juice, The Week, New York Post and Althouse
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Biden to Name Longtime Aide Blinken as Secretary of State — Jake Sullivan likely pick for national security adviser — President-elect begins building government before concession — President-elect Joe Biden intends to name his longtime adviser Antony Blinken as secretary of State …

Biden to nominate Antony Blinken as secretary of state, Linda Thomas-Greenfield as U.N. ambassador — Jake Sullivan, another top Biden adviser, is also expected to be named as national security adviser — President-elect Joe Biden is planning to announce that he has selected Antony Blinken …
Discussion:
USA Today, CBS News, Wall Street Journal, Politico and The Week

Democrats expect Biden to name Linda Thomas-Greenfield UN ambassador — Democrats close to President-elect Biden expect him to name Linda Thomas-Greenfield as ambassador to the United Nations, looking to a Black woman and respected diplomat to restore morale.
Discussion:
CNN, The Hill, Los Angeles Times and Fox News

Biden expected to nominate Blinken as secretary of state
Discussion:
Washington Times, Los Angeles Times, Bloomberg and Defense One

Trump legal team shuns Sidney Powell as insiders and national security officials see no evidence supporting her voting machine claims — With Trump-allied insiders distancing themselves from massive and unproven election fraud allegations being made by Sidney Powell, the president's legal team announced …
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Scoop: Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman says Trump lost — It's over. That's what Blackstone chairman, CEO and co-founder Steve Schwarzman — one of President Trump's most loyal allies — and other top Republicans are signaling to the defeated president, 16 days after Joe Biden clinched the win.
Discussion:
The Hill, Raw Story, Mediaite, The Week, IJR, Twitchy, Digby's Hullabaloo, Donald J. Trump for President, RedState and American Greatness, more at Mediagazer »

Trump campaign cuts Sidney Powell from president's legal team — President Donald Trump appears to have cut ties with Sidney Powell, a key member of his legal team who also represents former national security adviser Michael Flynn in his long-running attempt to unravel a guilty plea for lying about his 2016 contacts with Russia.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway, Newsmax, Washington Examiner, WayneDupree.com, WTOP, Business Insider, TheBlaze, Townhall, Reason and Power Line

Netanyahu Held Secret Meeting with Saudi Crown Prince, Israeli Media Reports — The reported visit on Sunday night would be the first known meeting between high-level Israeli and Saudi leaders. — BEIRUT, Lebanon — Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel flew to Saudi Arabia …
Discussion:
Al Jazeera
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Newsom faces pressure to fill Harris seat with woman of color instead of presumed favorite — OAKLAND, Calif. — As speculation grows that Gov. Gavin Newsom is leaning toward California elections chief Alex Padilla to fill the U.S. Senate seat of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris …
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Theodore Schleifer / Vox:
Big California donors want to fill Kamala Harris's Senate seat with a woman of color
Big California donors want to fill Kamala Harris's Senate seat with a woman of color
Discussion:
Fox News

Republicans Rewrite an Old Playbook on Disenfranchising Black Americans — As they try to somehow reverse Joe Biden's victory, President Trump and his allies have targeted heavily Black cities, painting them as corrupt and trying to throw out huge numbers of votes.
Discussion:
Election Law Blog, Washington Times, NPR, Washington Post and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Trump's Legal Farce Is Having Tragic Results — There is nothing funny about the Republican Party's multipronged attack on voting rights. — Mr. Hasen is the author of “Election Meltdown: Dirty Tricks, Distrust and the Threat to American Democracy.” — Even as the campaign lawsuits brought …
Discussion:
CNN, Persuasion, Bloomberg, WBTV-TV, JONATHAN TURLEY, New Republic and NPR
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John Ellis / Medium:
Trump 2024. — Losing a presidential election is a crushing experience. In 2004, shortly before midnight on the day of the election, it became clear that President Bush would win Ohio and thus win re-election. The networks, out of an abundance of caution, didn't call it until later the next day.

Trump set on veto of defense bill over renaming bases honoring Confederates — WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is threatening to veto legislation to fund the military as one of his final acts in office unless a widely supported, bipartisan provision to rename military bases honoring …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Israpundit, Los Angeles Times, Roll Call, Raw Story and Florida Politics
Rick Hasen / Election Law Blog:
Breaking: In Federal Case in Pennsylvania, Trump Campaign Seeks Very Limited Emergency Remedy in Third Circuit, and Does Not Ask for a Delay in Certification — In a new filing in the Third Circuit (that should appear on the docket tomorrow), the Trump campaign did not ask for the appeals court …
Discussion:
Politico

Why Won't Emily Murphy Just Do Her Job? — In delaying the transition, the General Services Administration chief appears to be making an ideological choice. — Staff writer at The Atlantic — I don't know for certain that Emily Murphy gets up in the morning, looks in the mirror and says to herself, “You are a good person.”
Rick Hasen / Election Law Blog:
“Attorney heading up Trump campaign's Wisconsin recount effort is seeking to throw out his own vote” — Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:
Discussion:
Law & Crime, Raw Story and USA Today
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Trump attorney Lin Wood tells Republican supporters NOT to back GOP candidates in the Georgia runoff election because they've ‘failed’ to help the President's fight to overturn the election — Trump Attorney Lin Wood has suggested voters should not back Republican candidates David Perdue (R-GA) and Senator Kelly Loeffler (R-GA)
Discussion:
Georgia Recorder and Conservative News Today

Get Me Meacham! Biden Brings Back the Media's Good Old Days — The next president promises to do for old-line newspaper columnists what Donald Trump did for cable. What a time to be George Will! — One afternoon in the spring of 2009, Jon Meacham sat in front of the freighted wooden bookshelf …
Discussion:
Althouse and WTOP, more at Mediagazer »

Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich Says GOP Is ‘Afraid’ Of Trump — Few high-profile Republican members of Congress have publicly acknowledged Joe Biden's presidential win. — And many Republican politicians have refused to denounce Trump's legal challenges and false allegations of widespread voter fraud.
Discussion:
New York Post, CNN, Wall Street Journal, Spectator USA, POLITICUSUSA, The Western Journal, New York Times, The Hill, The Week and HotAir

Utah hospitals have begun informal rationing of care, doctors say, as they cope with surge of COVID-19 patients — Editor's note: The Salt Lake Tribune is providing free access to critical stories about the coronavirus. Sign up for our Top Stories newsletter, sent to your inbox every weekday morning.

Trump team making false argument about his 2016 transition — WASHINGTON (AP) — It's not just President-elect Joe Biden's transition that's under a microscope. — President Donald Trump and his allies are harking back to his own transition four years ago to make a false argument …
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A noisy president goes (relatively) quiet in wake of election defeat — The Debrief: An occasional series offering a reporter's insights — The president who likes to put on a show is mostly offstage these days. — Since President Trump was declared the election's loser earlier this month …
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway and Raw Story