Mike’s Blog Round-up

With President-elect Donald Trump and his acolytes likely to enact an anti-abortion agenda across government, a pair of Democratic governors have announced new measures to bolster protections for reproductive freedom in their states. On Thursday, North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein (D) issued an executive order stipulating that state officials will not assist in civil or criminal investigations or proceedings that seek to punish people who provide, obtain, or help others access reproductive health care in the state.

By ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON, Associated Press Donald Trump’s inauguration as the country’s 47th president was expected to be an extravagant break from tradition — before it got moved indoors due to cold weather. There will still be well-known performers, influential billionaires as guests and foreign heads of state. Unlike his first inauguration eight years ago, Trump will be welcomed back to office by business titans and global leaders, groups that often shunned him in his first term. Country music star Carrie Underwood will sing “America the Beautiful” before Trump is sworn in.

By WILL WEISSERT, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — President-elect Donald Trump consulted privately with Republican senators Sunday before heading off to a series of events designed to celebrate his return to power and the “Make America Great Again” movement — despite deep national political divisions on the eve of his inauguration. The private meeting featured a breakfast at Blair House, the president’s official guest residence, across Pennsylvania Avenue from the White House, and gave top GOP leaders a chance to lay last-minute plans barely 24 hours before Trump moves back into the White House. Meanwhile, Trump supporters, many arriving from around the country and decked out in their fanciest clothes, including fur coats, filled parties — both formal and informal — at hotels and restaurants close to the White House.

On this day in 1980, Pink Floyd’s 11th studio album, The Wall, began a 15-week run at the top of the Billboard 200. Pink Floyd - In The Flesh / Run Like Hell / Waiting For The Worms Krugman wonks out: Voodoo, MAGA Style. Joe. My. God.: Homan: I’ll Deputize Citizens To Turn In Migrant Kids. All Hat No Cattle: Panama Canal Officials Respond to Trump’s Threats to Retake It On CNN: ‘We Get To Keep Everything’. Attention science fiction nerds!

Trump is saying he’s moving the inauguration because of frigid temperatures. But even The New York Times seems skeptical: President-elect Donald J. Trump said Friday that his inauguration would be moved inside the Capitol Rotunda because of a frigid weather forecast, the first time in 40 years that a presidential swearing-in will be held indoors. The change for Monday’s inauguration means that far fewer people will be able to watch in person as Mr.

Sigh. The last day of the Biden Administration. The entire country will miss him, whether they know it now, or not. How are you spending this Sunday? Open thread read more