Without any irony: huge if true  Believe it or not, we have more good news to share this week. Pfizer has completed its coronavirus vaccine trial and says the results show the vaccine is safe and 95% effective. As Katie Thomas reports at The New York Times, the company says it plans to apply for emergency approval from the Food and Drug Administration “within days.” “It just keeps getting better,” tweets Laura Santhanam.
Thomas also writes, “Both Pfizer and Moderna have said the accelerating pace of the pandemic has had the silver lining of speeding up their trials, since volunteers are becoming infected with the virus more quickly.” So that’s...fortunate (?). There’s more, and James McLeod thinks “This is potentially even better news than the Moderna or Pfizer vaccine announcements.” Apoorva Mandavilli of The New York Times reports on a new study that suggests immunity to the coronavirus may last years. As Daniel Drezner says, “Without any irony: huge if true.” “Hope this brightens your week as it did mine,” Mandavilli tweets. “Feat. @profshanecrotty, @SetteLab, @VirusesImmunity, @deeptabhattacha, @JenGommerman Jeff Shaman & shoutout to @PepperMarion @Anto_Berto @trvrb whose work informed the piece.” What *can’t* Dolly do?  Sure, Pfizer has some big news today, but sorry, Pfizer, you simply can’t compete with Moderna when it comes to this: Dolly Parton partially funded Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine, and as Timothy Bella writes at The Washington Post, it began with a car crash and an unlikely friendship — with Vanderbilt University Medical Center physician and professor of surgery, Dr. Naji Abumrad.
In other words, in more unexpected 2020 news, “Dolly Parton and a Lebanese-American doctor team up to save the world,” tweets Joe Flood. Terri Rupar wonders, “What if Dolly Parton is the main character of the 21st century?” “I think @DollyParton on a very short list of greatest living Americans. This is a beautiful and remarkable story,” tweets Michael Sokolove. “I mean, what *can’t* Dolly do?” adds Catharine Richert. (Read about her Imagination Library, if you need more evidence.) The point is, “Good morning. It’s *Wednesday and we still don’t deserve Dolly Parton,” says Scott Gustin. Dolly also gets the New York Times treatment, from Maria Cramer: Dolly Parton: Singer, Songwriter, Pandemic Savior? “And at the end, Dolly Parton will save the world (Can we now put away the Jumanji and leave it in the attic for the next century, please?!?)” Caroline Madjar requests. The lame duck’s doings/undoings Yesterday, Trump fired Chris Krebs, the head of the DHS election security agency and “a widely respected member of his administration who had dared to refute the president’s unsubstantiated claims of electoral fraud and vouch for the integrity of the vote,” writes AP’s Ben Fox. Micaela Massimino appends the headline with: “the sort of move that an aspiring dictator would make.” Kevin Collier covered the breaking news at NBC News, Trump fires head of U.S. election cybersecurity after he debunked conspiracy theories. David Axelrod says, “This thing is ending in a supernova of crazy,” but, importantly, “You guys, where is Krebs on the power ranking of the Chrises? Numero Uno!” tweets Kim Sherrell.  At Wired, Garrett Graff argues that Firing Christopher Krebs Crosses a Line-Even for Trump. “Krebs did nothing more than tell the truths that Trump is trying to ignore; he was fired for almost literally pointing out that the emperor has no clothes,” Graff writes.
But “As @vermontgmg notes, Chris Krebs might wind up the only person to leave this administration with a better reputation than when he entered it,” Brian Barrett highlights. Panic in Detroit If you were on Twitter during a specific period of time last night, you watched this whole thing play out in real time. In Michigan, Wayne County canvassers initially deadlocked along party lines before certifying the election results. As Beth LeBlanc reports at The Detroit News, “During a lengthy public comment session, the vote was described as a targeted attack on majority-Black Detroit, the largest city in the county and state.” Eventually, the two Republican canvassers changed course and the vote was certified, with the demand that the Secretary of State’s office conduct a “comprehensive audit” of precincts with unexplained out-of-balance tallies.  “Minutes after that, President Donald Trump tweeted, based on the past deadlocked vote, ‘Wow! Michigan just refused to certify the election results! Having courage is a beautiful thing. The USA stands proud!’” LeBlanc writes. Now that’s just sad.
Here’s coverage of the evening’s events from Kathleen Gray, Jim Rutenberg and Nick Corasaniti at The New York Times. Patrick LaForge concludes, “So that was all pretty stupid.” But as Edmund Lee says, “it’s crazy that this happened even for just a few hours.” Elise Viebeck, Kayla Ruble, Josh Dawsey and Jon Swaine followed the unexpected twist of the deadlock and then reversal at The Washington Post, and it’s “‘a return to normalcy’ for now…” says Luke Russert, which I suppose depends on your definition of normalcy. A rot that will linger There’s always Georgia, and it’s not just Lindsey Graham (although to be sure, it is also Lindsey Graham). The scoop from Jessica Huseman and Mike Spies of ProPublica, Trump Campaign Officials Started Pressuring Georgia’s Secretary of State Long Before the Election. Tweets Huseman, “My latest: The Trump campaign's pressure on GA Sec. of State started in Jan., when they asked him to endorse and he declined. They didn’t stop asking. In one meeting, a Trump campaign official told staffers: ‘We’ll see how helpful you are in November.’”  Dell Cameron calls it “A big one today from ace election reporter @JessicaHuseman: Georgia's Secretary of State, now the target of Trump attacks, rebuffed a campaign job offer and hostile GOP requests for a Trump endorsement ahead of the election, citing responsibilities.”
At NBC News, Mark Murray, Carrie Dann, Melissa Holzberg and Chuck Todd note that Trump’s effort to overturn the election results may be inept. But it’s still a scandal. Ned Foley says, “This key point can't be overemphasized; Trump’s lawsuits lack merit, but are toxic in 2 ways: 1) risks certification delays; 2) riles up base into believing untruths.” As for point 2, about half of Republicans say Biden won because of a ‘rigged’ election, according to a new Reuters/Ipsos poll that Chris Kahn reports on. “This is the longterm effect to our democracy. A ‘lost cause’ rot that will linger for generation or more,” tweets Peter W. Singer. Kick the habit  So this seems helpful: At Politico, John Harris shares What Keith Richards Can Teach Us About Beating Our Donald Trump Addiction. Josh Glancy admits, “Was sceptical about this column but it actually really works. Much of liberal America, media in particular, is addicted to Trump outrage. To move on, they need to kick the habit.”
“Learn from Keef,” tweets Jack Todd. Who knows — Dolly and Keith might just save 2020 for us. Must-read investigations A CNN investigation by Stephanie Busari, Nima Elbagir, Gianluca Mezzofiore and Katie Polglase sheds new light on Nigeria’s anti-brutality protest and reveals how a bloody night of bullets quashed a young protest movement. Tweets Aisha Salaudeen, “Contrary to the claims by the Nigerian army & the Lagos State governor, CNN investigated & found that the army shot at peaceful protesters at the Lekki toll gate, with multiple people dead & injured. Protesters & their supporters are also being intimidated.” Next, Michael Rezendes directs us to “A must-read: This air-tight indictment of the global palm oil industry -- a product found in all our homes.” A new investigation by Margie Mason and Robin McDowell of AP News uncovers rape, abuses in palm oil fields and links the work to top Western beauty brands. The AP interviewed more than three dozen women and girls from at least 12 companies across Indonesia and Malaysia for that story, which was funded in part by the McGraw Center for Business Journalism at CUNY’s Newmark Graduate School of Journalism. Magazine men People made some good choices this year, and in this case, when we say “People,” we mean the magazine. Julie Jordan has the profile of Michael B. Jordan, PEOPLE’s Sexiest Man Alive 2020. “No lies detected,” tweets Jessica Derschowitz. As Jessi Hackett says, it’s “Another great example of FOR the people, BY the people.” And “For GQ’s Man of The Year issue, I spoke with @Trevornoah about the year that was 2020, the state of the media, whether the US will ever have a truth and reconciliation commission, the Tomi Lahren thing, our experiences as mulattos and lots more,” tweets Wesley Lowery. At GQ, Trevor Noah Goes Deep With Wesley Lowery on Racism, Trump, and America Divided. A few more - Sources tell Jake Bleiberg of AP News that the FBI is investigating allegations that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton broke the law in using his office to benefit a wealthy donor.
- In yet another sign of just how dire things are with the pandemic, especially in the Midwest right now, Paul Scott of the Pioneer Press reports that over 900 Mayo staff have gotten COVID-19 in the past two weeks. All 32 beds in the dedicated Covid ICU at Mayo Rochester are now full. The clinic will be adding more beds.
- “Basically, China is threatening Australia with war if Canberra continues to speak out about democracy in Hong Kong, Uyghur Muslim persecution and China’s military expansionism in South China Sea.” CJ Werleman links to the reporting by Jonathan Kearsley, Eryk Bagshaw and Anthony Galloway of The Sydney Morning Herald on Beijing’s fresh threat to Australia.
- And lastly today, according to the reporting by Michael Schmidt and Maggie Haberman of The New York Times, multiple people briefed say Giuliani has asked for $20,000 a day for his Trump legal work. Maybe he’s planning to invest in a legal basics refresher course? Joshua Benton offers, “I'll do it for $18K,” (and he might even get better results! It’s a low bar!).
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The pandemic has led to a surge in the number of people who freelance. If you’re among them — or have plans to be — you’ll want to be sure to read 
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