GOP Senators lose donors - Palestinian election called - German leader’s successor

1. Top from last 48 hrs
   Statehouses brace for potential violence as Biden's inauguration approaches.
   NPR (Moderate Left) • Credibility Grade 82% • 3 min read
   

   The FBI specifically warned this week of potentially violent protests in all 50 states ahead of Biden's swearing-in as the nation's 46th president. As the weekend drew near, statehouses began erecting barricades, fencing and boards as officials braced for potential violence.
   ...
   On Friday, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who had been the target of an alleged kidnapping plot last year, activated the state's National Guard ahead of a protest reportedly planned for Sunday. In Oregon, state lawmakers announced they would delay gathering in person for the start of their legislative session this week by at least a day. Oregon has also deployed its National Guard — as have California, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.
   ...
   Kansas has said it would continue legislative business while upping security measures and restricting visitors with official and scheduled business for at least a week. Many states are also relying on added support from law enforcement to help secure their legislative buildings. Georgia began deploying SWAT teams to the Statehouse in Atlanta this week, while in Texas more than 100 state troopers in full tactical gear were on-site as armed protesters gathered outside.

1. Top from different political viewpoint
   States activate National Guard, close capitol buildings ahead of Biden inauguration and possible violence.
   Fox News (Right) • Credibility Grade 72% • 5 min read

1. Top long-read
   Secret Service launches massive security operation to protect Biden inauguration.
   Washington Post (Moderate Left) • Credibility Grade 76% • 9 min read

1. Top from last 48 hrs
   More backlash for GOP’s Hawley as Loews Hotel cancels event.
   Associated Press (Center) • Credibility Grade 78% • 3 min read
   

   Loews Hotels said Saturday it has canceled an upcoming fundraiser for U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, the latest fallout for the Republican lawmaker after the U.S. Capitol uprising. “We are horrified and opposed to the events at the Capitol and all who supported and incited the actions,” according to a Twitter statement from the hotel. “In light of those events and for the safety of our guests and team members, we have informed the host of the Feb. fundraiser that it will no longer be held at Loews Hotels.”
   ...
   Hawley’s office released a statement Saturday declaring he was undeterred by the backlash. “If these corporations don’t want conservatives to speak, they should just be honest about it. But to equate leading a debate on the floor of the Senate with inciting violence is a lie, and it’s dangerous. I will not be deterred from representing my constituents and I will not bow to left wing corporate pressure,” he said.
   ...
   Meanwhile, former staffers of Claire McCaskill, the Democrat whom Hawley ousted to win the seat, were involved in launching a political action committee that began airing ads Friday blaming Hawley for inciting the crowd to riot, The Kansas City Star reports. McCaskill tweeted that she had no involvement with the PAC but encouraged people to donate, writing that their money “won’t be wasted.”

1. Top from different political viewpoint
   Senators Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley: Profiles in courage.
   American Spectator (Right) • Credibility Grade 71% • 6 min read

1. Top long-read
   CEOs spurn Trump and his allies: How big a blow?
   Christian Science Monitor (Center) • Credibility Grade 83% • 7 min read

1. Top from last 48 hrs
   Germany: Merkel's party chooses Armin Laschet as leader.
   The Guardian (Moderate Left) • Credibility Grade 73% • 3 min read
   

   In a digitally-held party congress, [Armin] Laschet beat the conservative hardliner Friedrich Merz by 521 to 466 votes in a run-off vote, following a strong speech that emphasised social cohesion and held up recent scenes from Washington DC as a warning example of divisive leadership. The third candidate on the ballot, the foreign policy specialist Norbert Röttgen, was eliminated in the first round of voting.
   ...
   Laschet was initially seen as the clear favourite to win the race for the German centre-right’s leadership, but his nationwide approval ratings plummeted during the pandemic. An early advocate of relaxing Germany’s first lockdown in the spring, he drew criticism over lackadaisical leadership. Most recently, there were charges of nepotism over PPE procured from a fashion company that also employs his son to model its clothes on his Instagram channel.
   ...
   As a former member of the “pizza connection” – a loose network of young conservative and Green delegates who scoped out political similarities over dinner in the mid-90s – Laschet would seem a natural fit to lead the CDU into its first ever coalition with the ecological party. Under current projections, a CDU-Green coalition would be the only power-sharing deal to guarantee an absolute majority at federal elections.

1. Top local viewpoint
   Armin Laschet, Angela Merkel loyalist, is new CDU leader.
   Deutsche Welle (Moderate Left) • Credibility Grade 60% • 4 min read

1. Top long-read
   Germany may be about to pick its next leader. Here’s what you need to know.
   Atlantic Council (Center) • Credibility Grade 80% • 9 min read

1. Top from last 48 hrs
   Abbas announces Palestinian elections after years of paralysis.
   New York Times (Moderate Left) • Credibility Grade 69% • 4 min read
   

   Sixteen years after he was elected for what was meant to be a four-year term, President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority announced on Friday that presidential and parliamentary elections would be held in the spring and summer. The announcement appeared to be part of an effort to get the divided Palestinian house in order and project at least a semblance of unity as the Palestinian Authority prepares to repair ties with Washington.
   ...
   In [the last election in] 2006 a rival party representing Hamas, the Islamic militant group, trounced Fatah in elections for the Legislative Council, leading to a year and a half of uneasy power sharing. The United States and much of the West refused to work with the unity government because Hamas, which they considered a terrorist organization, would not accept international demands such as renouncing violence and recognizing Israel’s right to exist.
   ...
   Hamas welcomed Mr. Abbas’s new decree, saying in a statement that it was keen to make the elections “successful.” Still, some analysts expressed significant doubts about whether Mr. Abbas was interested in ultimately allowing the elections to go ahead, and the two rival Palestinian factions have not explained publicly how they will hold elections while the West Bank and Gaza are ruled by the separate groups.

1. Top local viewpoint
   Palestinian factions to meet in Cairo to prepare for general elections.
   Jerusalem Post (Moderate Right) • Credibility Grade 65% • 4 min read

1. Top long-read
   What is U.S. policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
   Council on Foreign Relations (Moderate Right) • Credibility Grade 82% • 14 min read

1. Top from last 48 hrs
   Alex Azar’s resignation letter paints a misleading picture of Trump’s coronavirus response.
   Vox (Left) • Credibility Grade 78% • 6 min read
   

   Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar this week warned President Donald Trump that, despite what he described as achievements by HHS under his watch, Trump’s “actions and rhetoric following the election ... threaten to tarnish these and other historic legacies of this administration.” Despite its rebuke of Trump, however, Azar’s letter of resignation, effective at noon on Inauguration Day, is more of a formality than anything.
   ...
   Azar lauded Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration’s vaccine push. Though Azar told states earlier this week that the administration would begin releasing vaccine doses previously held in reserve for a second shot, it turns out there aren’t any to release. According to a Washington Post scoop Friday, the Trump administration had already begun shipping those doses late last year, leaving the vaccine stockpile largely depleted.
   ...
   The miscommunication will likely have consequences at a state level. According to Oregon health director Patrick Allen in a letter to Azar, the lack of additional doses “puts our plans to expand eligibility at grave risk. Those plans were made on the basis of reliance on your statement about ‘releasing the entire supply’ you have in reserve. If this information [about the depleted vaccine reserve] is accurate, we will be unable to begin vaccinating our vulnerable seniors on Jan. 23, as planned.”

1. Top from different political viewpoint
   HHS Secretary Alex Azar resigns citing Capitol riot.
   United Press International (Center) • Credibility Grade 72% • 4 min read

1. Top long-read
   Biden to deploy FEMA, National Guard as part of national vaccination plan.
   NBC News (Moderate Left) • Credibility Grade 81% • 5 min read

• Museveni declared election winner in Uganda as rival Bobi Wine alleges fraud.
  The Guardian (Moderate Left) • Grade 69% • 3 min read
• Rand Paul warns Senate Republicans will ‘destroy the party’ if they vote to convict Trump.
  Washington Times (Moderate Right) • Grade 74% • 2 min read
• North Korea unveils new submarine-launched ballistic missile.
  New York Times (Moderate Left) • Grade 77% • 4 min read
• Critical NASA rocket test ends early with a shutdown.
  The Verge (Moderate Left) • Grade 74% • 3 min read

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