Today in one sentence: Biden will ask all Americans to wear masks for 100 days after he is inaugurated; the U.S. economy added 245,000 jobs in November; Trump could preemptively pardon as many as 20 aides and associates before leaving office; Trump’s campaign and its related committees spent more than $1.1 million at Trump’s own properties in the last weeks of his losing 2020 campaign; and the House voted to remove marijuana from the federal schedule of controlled substances.

1/ Biden will ask all Americans to wear masks for 100 days after he is inaugurated, saying “Just 100 days to mask, not forever. One hundred days.” Biden also asked Dr. Anthony Fauci to stay on as the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases – the same position he has held since 1984 across six administrations. Fauci called Biden’s proposal a “good idea.” The CDC, meanwhile, now recommends “universal mask use” outside people’s homes as part of its updated coronavirus guidance. (CNN / Washington Post / Politico / New York Times / Axios / NPR)

2/ The U.S. economy added 245,000 jobs in November on a seasonally adjusted basis as the unemployment rate fell to 6.7%, from 6.9% in October. The economy has brought back 12.3 million of the 22 million jobs lost in the first two months of the coronavirus pandemic, but there are still 10.7 million unemployed Americans, compared with 5.8 million in February. Hiring is now so slow that it could take another 40 months for the job market to fully recover from the pandemic. Biden, meanwhile, said the “grim” jobs report shows the economic recovery is stalling and warned of a “dark winter” ahead unless Congress passes a coronavirus relief bill immediately. (CNN / New York Times / CNBC / NPR / Reuters / The Guardian)

3/ Trump could preemptively pardon as many as 20 aides and associates before leaving office. Republicans, however, say offering legal reprieves to his friends and family members would be unprecedented, could tarnish, his legacy, and harm a 2024 campaign. (Politico)

4/ The Justice Department investigated Jared Kushner’s lawyer and a top Trump fundraiser over a possible scheme to offer bribes in exchange for clemency for a tax crimes convict. Unsealed, but heavily redacted court documents, disclosed that Abbe Lowell and Elliott Broidy were the subject of an investigation as recently as this summer into possible unregistered lobbying and bribery related to securing clemency for Hugh Baras, who had received a 30-month prison sentence on a conviction of tax evasion and improperly claiming Social Security benefits. The scheme involved Sanford Diller, a real estate developer, making a “substantial” political contribution in exchange for a pardon for Baras. However, Diller died in 2018 and Baras never received clemency. Broidy, meanwhile, pleaded guilty in October to a different scheme to lobby the Trump administration. (New York Times / NBC News)

5/ Trump’s campaign and its related committees spent more than $1.1 million at Trump’s own properties in the last weeks of his losing 2020 campaign. The Trump Victory fundraising committee, which is managed by Trump’s campaign and the Republican National Committee, spent $1.06 million at Trump properties in September, October, and November. And, Trump’s own campaign reported spending another $66,000. (Washington Post)

6/ The White House fired several members of the Pentagon’s Defense Business Board. Loyalists Corey Lewandowski and David Bossie were then appointed to the board. The firings come less than a month after Trump removed Defense Secretary Mark Esper. (Politico / Washington Post)

7/ White House communications director Alyssa Farah resigned after more than three years with the Trump administration. (Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / Politico)

8/ The House voted to remove marijuana from the federal schedule of controlled substances, marking the first time a congressional chamber has voted in favor of decriminalizing marijuana at the federal level. The legislation, however, is almost certainly doomed in the Republican-led Senate. (Washington Post / Axios / CNN / New York Times)

Last year today: Day 1049: "Are you ready?"
Two years ago today: Day 684: Loose ends.
Three years ago today: Day 319: Tatters.