“US intelligence agencies have assessed that Saudi Arabia is now actively manufacturing its own ballistic missiles with the help of China,” CNN reports.
It’s a development “that could have significant ripple effects across the Middle East and complicate the Biden administration’s efforts to restrain the nuclear ambitions of Iran, the Saudis’ top regional rival.”
Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) and his wife are divorcing, the North Carolina Republican announced in a statement, citing irreconcilable differences, NBC News reports.
They were just married in April.
“Arizona, one of the most bitterly divided swing states, finalized a new congressional map that could hand the GOP six of its nine congressional districts in 2022,” Politico reports.
“Democrats, who currently control five of the state’s nine seats, are probably staring down a short-term loss in the current political climate. But the new map, drawn over several months by a bipartisan panel of commissioners and adopted unanimously, ensures the state will continue to be a top House battleground for the next decade.”
Wall Street Journal: “More than a decade after the 2008 crisis cast financiers as national villains and obstructed their glide path to Washington, the political calculus has flipped once again.”
“Wealthy would-be candidates are emboldened, consultants say, by the success of Glenn Youngkin, who was elected Virginia’s governor last month. The longtime Carlyle Group Inc. executive deflected attacks on his private-equity career and charted a middle-road course that now appeals to the kind of Republican—low-tax, pro-business and wary of former President Donald Trump’s hold over the party—that populates Wall Street.”
New York Times: “While most presidents promise their vice presidents access and influence, at the end of the day, power and responsibility are not shared equally, and Mr. Biden does not always feel a need for input from Ms. Harris as he navigates some of his most important relationships.”
“But without a headlining role in some of the most critical decisions facing the White House, the vice president is caught between criticism that she is falling short and resentment among supporters who feel she is being undercut by the administration she serves. And her allies increasingly are concerned that while Mr. Biden relied on her to help him win the White House, he does not need her to govern.”
“Russia continues to build up forces close to Ukraine even as it’s preparing for security talks with the U.S., keeping up pressure with a deployment that could turn into a rapid invasion or a long-term threat,” Bloomberg reports.
Washington Post: “Putin is expected to outline why the Kremlin considers Ukraine’s Westward turn an urgent security threat during his annual news conference today, which marks an opportunity for Putin to convince skeptical citizens that the situation on the border may require military action.”
Forbes: “The omicron variant of the coronavirus raises the risk of infection on board a passenger plane by two or even three-fold, according to the airline industry’s biggest trade body, a finding that may foreshadow an exponential increase in cases as millions of travelers take to the skies to be with their families during the holiday season.”
China has warned that the “resurgence of international militant groups emboldened by the chaos in post-war Afghanistan is posing serious threats to anti-terror work,” the South China Morning Post reports.
New York Times: “Biden’s administration has not yet signed a contract to buy the tests, and the website to order them will not be up until January. Officials have not said how many tests people will be able to order or how quickly they will be shipped once they begin to be available next month. Manufacturers say they are already producing tests as fast as they can.”
“I don’t think it’s a failure. I think it’s — you could argue that we should have known a year ago, six months ago, two months ago, a month ago… I wish I had thought about ordering 500 million at-home tests two months ago.”
— President Biden, in an ABC News interview, on why Covid tests are not readily available.
President Biden told ABC News that he plans to run for reelection in 2024, assuming he’s still in good health.
Said Biden: “I’m a great respecter of fate. Fate has intervened in my life many, many times. If I’m in the health I’m in now, if I’m in good health, then in fact, I would run again.”
He added that if his predecessor, Donald Trump, runs, then it would “increase the prospect” even more.
“The Supreme Court Wednesday night announced it will hold a special hearing next month to consider challenges to the Biden administration’s pandemic efforts to impose a nationwide vaccine-or-testing requirement for large employers and a separate coronavirus vaccine mandate for health-care workers,” the Washington Post reports.
“Both have been at least partially blocked from going into effect by lower courts after challenges from Republican-led states and from business and religious coalitions.”
“It is highly unusual for the justices to schedule such hearings on emergency requests.”
Vice President Kamala Harris tested negative for Covid-19 on Wednesday after she was possibly exposed to Covid-19 on Tuesday, USA Today reports.
“Roger Stone, a longtime associate of Donald Trump, is auctioning off a copy of a 1990s magazine cover he says is signed by the former president as part of a larger fundraising campaign to pay for his legal defenses and medical bills,” Politico reports.
“If the bid exceeds $20,000 dollars, the bidder gets the physical version of the magazine along with ‘one of only one’ digital copy, which Stone marketed as an NFT, or a non-fungible token.”
Cook Political Report: “On Monday, California’s citizens’ redistricting commission voted 14-0 to approve a map that’s a dream for Democrats. Technically, the commission (five Democrats, five Republicans and four others) was prohibited from taking partisan or incumbent data into consideration.”
“But the end product features strong districts for California’s 42 Democratic incumbents (save for two who are retiring) and makes five out of 11 GOP incumbents more vulnerable.”
Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA) was the victim of a carjacking in Philadelphia, WPVI reports.
“Researchers looking at real-world coronavirus cases in Britain reported Wednesday that the omicron variant appears to be less severe than the once dominant delta strain,” the Washington Post reports.
“Early evidence from Scotland and England suggests that omicron is sending fewer people to the hospital with severe symptoms.”
“I think you should home school. I was home schooled all the way through. I am proudly a college dropout. Unless you are becoming a doctor or lawyer or engineer, I highly encourage you to drop out.”
— Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC), speaking to an audience of mostly college students.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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