Politico: “President Donald Trump has been waging war on Georgia Republicans the past month, spreading disinformation and conspiracy theories about the Senate runoffs – and Democrats are praying he keeps on talking. That’s because Republican voters who believe Trump’s claims are growing skeptical of the election. They’re flocking to Facebook, Parler and Gab and they’re threatening to sit this one out – putting Republican’s grasp on the Senate at risk if they follow through on Jan. 5.”

“Democrats are delighting in the GOP dissension, seeing it as the perfect opportunity to gin up their base. Yes, Trump told voters to elect incumbent Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler. But the president is more worked up over a pair of top Georgia Republicans he thinks wronged him in the November election, calling Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger ‘clowns’ and amplifying a supporter who said the two “will soon be going to jail.’ ‘I think Trump wants Loeffler and Perdue to lose so he can blame Kemp. It’s the craziest thing I’ve seen,’ said James Carville, a former adviser to President Bill Clinton. ‘If he keeps it up, it’s good for us.'”

In an interview with “A Late Show” host Stephen Colbert, President-elect Joe Biden repeated his hopes that he’ll be able to work with Republicans and reestablish America’s position as a world leader, although he noted that he’s been disheartened by the words and actions of some Republicans who refuse to accept the outcome of the election.

Biden talked about his push to start up his campaign, urged on by his grandchildren after the rioting in Charlottesville where white nationalists and white supremacists rioted over the removal of Confederate statues, resulting in one death.

“It’s been more a sense of–how can I say it?–a sense of obligation than wanting to live in the White House,” Biden explained.  “The country we’ve been for the last four years is not who we are, and we have to get back to who we are.  We are a democracy.  We are a democracy that has shown respect and decency and been a beacon to the rest of the world, and we were losing that.”

“When I ran, I said, Stephen, really early on that the next president’s going to inherit two things:  A nation divided and a world in disarray,” Biden said.

“Is there anything about your predecessor, the current president, that you could thank him for sincerely?” #LSSC pic.twitter.com/jAjADRl4v9

— The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) December 18, 2020

According to the COVID Tracking Project, the United States on Thursday had its second deadliest day due to the coronavirus–falling just short of the record high set the day before–as it registered 3,438.  The high set on Wednesday:  3,448.

Three weeks after the Thanksgiving holiday, the US set two new records:  for new confirmed coronavirus cases reported with 241,620 new cases, and for hospitalized patients with 114,237.

Worldometers reports that five states–Texas, California, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Illinois–has more than 200 fatalities Thursday, with another five exceeding 100.

Axios: “Ben Carson, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development, has told confidants he wants to start a think tank after President Trump leaves office next month. Carson’s planning signals his private recognition of what many Trump loyalists won’t say publicly: Donald Trump will not serve a second term – at least not consecutively. The secretary has not publicly acknowledged Joe Biden’s election win but is preparing for a future outside the federal government. Carson, a neurosurgeon by trade who competed with Trump for the Republican Party’s 2016 presidential nomination, wants to start an organization that will promote Trump’s policies and foster bipartisan dialogue, a source in his inner circle told Axios.”

I am very disappointed in the United States Supreme Court, and so is our great country!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 18, 2020

The wife of the Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar has tested positive for coronavirus, Politico reports.  Azar himself and his children have tested negative and have no symptoms.

As DHHS Secretary, Azar has been responsible for the federal medical response to the coronavirus since it came to American shores in January.  The Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention fall under his management.

Azar said in an email to DHHS personnel that he has tested negative and has no symptoms.  He said will continue working while practicing  social distancing and public health recommendations.  His wife is isolating in their home.

Daily Beast: “As he begins his final weeks in office, amid a winter surge in coronavirus deaths, President Donald Trump has mentioned to confidants that he’s thinking about resurrecting The Apprentice or The Celebrity Apprentice reality TV show, two people with direct knowledge of the situation, and another person close to the president, tell The Daily Beast. Among his inner orbit of family, political aides, and advisers, it is yet another sign that, despite the president’s public insistence that he won the 2020 election, he recognizes that he has lost and that his ongoing legal crusade to cancel Joe Biden’s victory will come up short. In the past two weeks, the people familiar with the matter note, Trump has casually slipped into conversation lines such as, ‘How would you like to see The Apprentice come back?’ and ‘Remember The Apprentice?'”

“The president has also bragged about how much of a ratings draw and money-maker the series was for him and creator and Trump pal Mark Burnett, and that if he wanted to, he could do it again. Whether a network would have him is another question. The Apprentice aired formerly on NBC. But that was an era before Trump was president. And the controversy of his time in office will likely follow him after he leaves. Also unclear is to what extent Trump and Burnett have made contact this month. But Burnett has been talking up the prospect and has told associates he sees a revived Apprentice as a potential huge money spinner, according to a person familiar with his thinking.”

That’s because he is a great champion and man of courage. More Republican Senators should follow his lead. We had a landslide victory, and then it was swindled away from the Republican Party – but we caught them. Do something! https://t.co/nZU0czsZgB

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 18, 2020

Disgraced ex-National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, who received a pardon from outgoing president Donald Trump, said that Trump could order military into any state he wanted to in order to force them to re-run elections.

https://youtu.be/z9R3p-9WlBc

Speaking on Trump’s new favorite propaganda network, NewsMax, Flynn falsely claimed, “He could order, within the swing states, if he wanted to, he could take military capabilities and he could place them in those states and basically re-run an election in each of those states.”

“Attorney Lin Wood went SCORCHED EARTH on Chief Justice John Roberts on Thursday. Wood accused Roberts of links with Jeffrey Epstein and his pedophile island. Lin Wood said this “may be the most important tweet of my life.’ That’s saying something! John Roberts has been led along like a dog on a leash since Barack Obama was president. His rulings make no sense to anyone. This may explain why” – Gateway Pundit.

Along with a number of government agencies, Microsoft has been targeted by the Russian hackers allegedly responsible for the breach of multiple government systems, Reuters reports in an exclusive.

Microsoft utilized the network management software SolarWind, which apparently allowed hackers to gain access to systems.  SolarWind is utilized by companies and government agencies around the country.

“The SolarWinds Orion supply chain compromise is not the only initial infection vector this APT actor leveraged,” said DHS’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, per Reuters.

There are no available intensive care beds for coronavirus patients in the 11-county region comprising Southern California as the pandemic hits a new peak in the area and nationwide, KABC ABC-7 News reports.

The state has reported more than 379 fatalities on Wednesday, averaging one death from the coronavirus every four minutes.  It was a new record for deaths, which had been broken just the day before.

Politico reports that the cyber attack by a Russian-backed hacking group known as “Cozy Bear” has now been found to have breached the Department of Energy’s agencies and laboratories responsible for the nation’s nuclear stockpile.

National security experts have determined that the Russians were able to access systems at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories in New Mexico and Washington, the Office of Secure Transportation at National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), and the Richland Field Office of the DOE.

NNSA is responsible for safeguarding the nuclear arms stockpiles of the United States military. 

“Trump is living out the final days of his presidency in a state of denial. ‘It’s rigged and stolen!’ he complained during a phone call with a prominent Republican the day after the Electoral College affirmed Joe Biden as president-elect. “You can’t reason with him at all,” the Republican said. According to two sources briefed on the conversations, Republicans are privately suggesting to Trump that he should call Biden. Their advice is that Trump doesn’t have to concede. Instead, Trump should tell Biden that he will assist with the transition while he waits for legal challenges to play out. Trump rejected the idea, the sources said.”

“As Biden’s inauguration approaches, Republicans close to the White House told me Trump could be poised for a final round of norm-shattering actions. One source said Trump has discussed a preemptive-pardon blitz of everyone close to him, so Biden’s Justice Department can’t investigate his administration. (A White House spokesperson declined to comment.) “Trump doesn’t want his team targeted,” the source said. Another source said Trump wants the Department of Justice to name a special counsel to investigate Joe and Hunter Biden as a way of getting even with Democrats for the Robert Mueller probe. ‘If Trump is going to leave office, he wants a special counsel, 100%,’ the source said” – Gabe Sherman, Vanity Fair.

An independent panel of advisors for the Food and Drug Administration has approved unanimously the coronavirus vaccine developed by Moderna, completing the initial regulatory step that could lead to distribution, NBC News reports.

The Moderna vaccine, developed in conjunction with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, was approved by the panel for use in adults 18 and over.  Moderna received funding through the federal government’s Operation Warp Speed, making it the first product coming from that program.

This would be the second vaccine approved for distribution, if it receives, as expected, emergency use approval through the FDA.  The Moderna vaccine is a two-dose treatment, given 28 days apart, and like its Pfizer counterpart, uses Messenger RNA, or mRNA, to promote the production of antibodies in the patient. 

“Second GOP challenge to Georgia runoff procedures is dismissed on standing grounds” reports Politico Senior Legal Affairs contributor Josh Gerstein.

British actor Jeremy Bulloch, most famous for his role as bounty hunter Boba Fett in Star Wars films The Empire Strikes Back and Return of The Jedi, has died of Parkinson’s at age 75, TMZ reports. The actor who played the young Boba Fett in 2002’s Attack of The Clones announced his passing – which is kind of strange, but nice to know they became friends.

Bulloch’s face was never seen on camera in the Boba Fett role, however he did play an Imperial officer in the Empire Strikes Back and then the captain of a ship in 2005’s Revenge of The Sith. The iconic Boba Fett character made his on-screen return to the Star Wars universe in recent weeks in the Disney+ series The Mandalorian, played by Kiwi actor Temuera Morrison.