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Friday's Mini-Report, 12.4.20

Today's edition of quick hits.

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Today's edition of quick hits:

* Aid package: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said Friday that there is 'momentum' on Capitol Hill to reach a deal on coronavirus relief, further optimism that legislation could be approved before the end of the year."

* Today's jobs report really was bad: "Although the unemployment rate fell last month, to 6.7 percent from 6.9 percent, it was for the worst of reasons: Many Americans gave up even looking for work."

* Ignoring the experts was unwise: "Americans couldn't resist the urge to gather for Thanksgiving, driving only slightly less than a year ago and largely ignoring the pleas of public health experts, who begged them to forgo holiday travel to help contain the coronavirus pandemic, data from roadways and airports shows."

* Following up on a story we've been following: "The Justice Department investigated as recently as this summer the roles of a top fund-raiser for President Trump and a lawyer for his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, in a suspected scheme to offer a bribe in exchange for clemency for a tax crimes convict, according to two people familiar with the inquiry."

* Racing to attack nature before Biden takes office: "The Trump administration said Thursday that it would sell oil and gas leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska in early January, further accelerating its last-ditch effort to allow drilling there. The Bureau of Land Management said the sale would take place on Jan. 6, following the publication next Monday of a notice of sale in the Federal Register. That notice requires a 30-day comment period before a sale can occur."

* Farah was, believe it or not, Trump's eighth communications director in four years: "White House communications director Alyssa Farah resigned from her post Thursday after three-and-a-half years in the Trump administration."

* What a strange trajectory: "Four years ago, Jenna Ellis was a young Colorado attorney practicing in county courts, defending clients in domestic-abuse cases and teaching legal classes at a local Christian university. Today, she is a key part of the Trump campaign's legal team, helping to lead an effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election result with claims of widespread ballot fraud and other abuses."

* On a related note: "By late 2018, regular viewers of cable news would come to know Ms. Ellis as a 'constitutional law attorney' — her preferred title — who aggressively came to Mr. Trump's defense as he faced investigation and impeachment. But a review of her professional history, as well as interviews with more than a half-dozen lawyers who have worked with her, show that Ms. Ellis, 36, is not the seasoned constitutional law expert she plays on TV."

* There's a name I haven't heard in a long while: "Despite the suspension of his law license, former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline is helping out in a flurry of election lawsuits that are attempting to undermine Joe Biden's victory over President Donald Trump in battleground states."

* I'm guessing the RNC isn't willing to invest quite this much into buying copies of my book: "The Republican National Committee paid more than $300,000 in October to a company owned by Donald Trump Jr. to purchase copies of his new, self-published book."

Have a safe weekend.