Rather’s Roundup 12/10/17

Welcome

Welcome back!  It’s beginning to look a lot like winter.  A late fall storm covered much of the northeast and mid-Atlantic and more is on the way as you begin your week.  Tuesday will be another snow day for much of the country.  Meanwhile, Dan passes along this:  His thoughts are with the heroic firefighters in California who continue to work night and day and see little improvement in the wildfires.  

Here’s what you need to know to begin your week:

Republican Won’t Vote For A Republican:  The political world turns its sights on Alabama with the race between Roy Moore and Doug Jones to finally be decided on Tuesday.  Richard Shelby, the GOP Senator from Alabama said his state “can do better than Roy Moore.”  Shelby told CNN he wrote in another Republican candidate and urged voters to follow his lead.

 

Booker Calls On Trump To Resign: Meanwhile, New Jersey Democratic Senator Cory Booker calls on Donald Trump to resign.  Booker told Vice News the sexual misconduct  allegations against Trump are far worse than Al Franken.

 

The Fight To Save Carpinteria: The Thomas Fire in Ventura County now ranks as one of the largest in California history burning more than 170,000 acres so far.  Meanwhile, over in Santa Barbara County, the small town of Carpinteria is the latest front line in the firefight that has consumed thousands of acres of southern California.  The Los Angeles Times continues its stellar coverage.

 

How The Tax Bill Could Go Bust:  House and Senate negotiators continue to hurriedly work on the tax bill so that Congress can vote on it before the holiday break.  But beware, there are many pitfalls in the days ahead that could send the bill off the rails.  Slate has some of those scenarios.  This is not a done deal, folks.

 

A Liar Extraordinaire: The Washington Post has a fascinating take from a social scientist who studies lying.  Bella DePaulo says she’s never seen a liar like Donald Trump.  He tells more lies and far more cruel ones than most people.  According to The Post: “In Trump’s first 298 days in office, however, he made 1,628 false or misleading claims or flip-flops, by The Post’s tally. That’s about six per day, far higher than the average rate in our studies.”

 

Must Read: In a beautifully articulated Sunday read from The New York Times, White House reporters spoke to more than 60 advisers, associates, friends and members of Congress to write “Inside Trump’s Hour-By-Hour Battle For Self-Preservation.” 

 

More Top Stories from News and Guts