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Good Wednesday morning. This is the last Florida Playbook of the year.
The daily rundown Between Sunday and Monday, the number of Florida coronavirus cases increased by 10,434 (nearly 0.9 percent), to 1,223,015; active hospitalizations went up by 123 (2.2 percent) to 5,634; deaths rose by 74 (0.3 percent) to 20,754.
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With help from Myah Ward
BREAKING President Donald Trump issued pardons tonight to two former Republican congressmen who pleaded guilty to felony charges, as well as the campaign operative whose contacts with a Russian-aligned academic triggered the Trump-Russia investigation in 2016.
Trump s last-minute tantrum throws pandemic relief effort into chaos
Seung Min Kim, Josh Dawsey and Mike DeBonis, The Washington Post
Dec. 23, 2020
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President Trump and first lady Melania Trump depart the White House on Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 23, 2020.Washington Post photo by Toni L. Sandys
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump s last-minute move to reject a sweeping coronavirus relief package is escalating confusion and panic among Republicans while setting the stage for an uncomfortable confrontation Thursday that could lead GOP lawmakers to object to their own president s demand for larger stimulus checks for Americans.
The chaos is unfolding against the backdrop of another threatened government shutdown, with funding set to lapse starting Tuesday unless a spending bill to keep federal operations running is signed into law along with the virus aid bill. While the president hasn t explicitly threatened a veto, his defiance of a deal negotiated by his own
Former acting director of national intelligence Richard Grenell. (Getty/Chip Somodevilla)
Controversial Trump loyalist Richard Grenell has been handed a new government role, as the president seeks to reward his allies with plum posts ahead of his exit from office.
The controversial gay Republican operative, who previously served as Trump’s ambassador to Germany and his acting national security advisor, has been nominated serve on the United States Holocaust Memorial Council.
Grenell provoked controversy while serving as ambassador to Germany by giving an interview in which he said he would work to “empower” anti-migrant movements across Europe. Israeli outlet
Haaretznotes that he also expressed admiration for former Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz, a conservative hardliner who entered coalition with a far-right party.