"The resignation letter of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis runs just shy of 600 words," Washington Post media critic Erik Wemple noted Wednesday. "For the average reader, digesting such a missive is an undertaking of about three minutes, maybe a bit less. Way too much, in other words, for the president of the United States." Wemple pointed to a New York Times report that President Trump did not actually read the resignation letter or understand its stinging rebuke of his neglect of allies and affinity for authoritarians until "after days of news coverage."

After initially praising Mattis, Trump "grew increasingly angry as he watched a parade of defense analysts go on television to extol Mr. Mattis's bravery," describing him "in near heroic terms for standing up to Mr. Trump and making his resignation count as no one else in the president's circle has done," the Times said. On Sunday, Trump had enough and announced "he was firing a man who had already quit," abruptly setting Mattis' departure date at Jan. 1, not at the end of February as had originally been agreed.

In other words, instead of reading a letter addressed to him, Trump "outsourced that job to the people on whom he relies the most: Commentators on cable news and other media," Wemple said. You can see Trump's "depraved dependency" on cable news in everything from his knuckling under to Fox News and Rush Limbaugh on the shutdown drama to his taking policy cues from Fox & Friends and hiring of Fox News alumni, he adds. You can read Wemple's own rebuke of Trump at The Washington Post. Peter Weber

Sarah Fuller, a goalkeeper for Vanderbilt women's soccer team, suited up for the Commodore football Saturday and became the the first woman to play in a Power 5 football game when she took the third quarter kick off.

Two women have played college football at the FBS level — Katie Hnida of New Mexico and April Goss of Kent State — but neither were on a team in the the ACC, SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, or Pac-12.

Per ESPN, Vanderbilt's expected starting kicker opted out before the season, and several replacements are in quarantine this week because of COVID-19 testing, so Fuller got the call. She told Vanderbilt's website that said the historical aspect of the situation is "amazing and incredible," but "I'm also trying to separate that because I know this is a job I need to do." Read more at ESPN. Tim O'Donnell

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said Friday that the "federal government is now fully in control" of the Tigray region's capital, Mekelle, after a successful military offensive, Reuters reports. It's a crucial development in the weeks-old intra-country conflict.

Abiy said police are searching for leaders of the Tigray People's Liberation Front, who have been fighting the government's forces throughout November, and aim to "bring them to the court of law." He added that military operations have ended and the government's focus is now "rebuilding the region and providing humanitarian assistance." There has been no comment from the TPLF.

Earlier in the day, a spokeswoman for Abiy said the military would not target civilian areas, while Debretsion Gebremichael, leader of the TPLF, told Reuters that Mekelle was under "heavy bombardment."

It has been difficult for news organizations to verify claims from either side over the course of the conflict since phone and internet links to Tigray have been down. Read more at Reuters and Al Jazeera. Tim O'Donnell

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly flew to Saudi Arabia last week for a secret meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Saudi Crown prince Mohammed bin Salman in the hopes of striking a deal that would normalize relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel. But he came home empty handed after Prince Mohammed backed out, The Wall Street Journal reports.

His reasoning, Saudi advisers and U.S. officials, told the Journal was President-elect Joe Biden's victory over President Trump in the U.S. general election. Although the Trump administration was a factor in the recent so-called Abraham Accords, which normalized relations between Israel and both the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, Prince Mohammed reportedly wants to build ties with Biden and was reluctant about following suit while Trump is still in office, although the chances of that happening reportedly aren't impossible.

Negotiating normalization agreements Israel and Arab nations is one Trump policy Biden seems likely to keep pursuing, but the president-elect has taken a tougher stance on Saudi Arabia than Trump, especially after killing of Jamal Khashoggi, the Journal notes, so reviving talks with the new administration may be Prince Mohammed's best chance "to repair its image in Washington," a U.S. official said. Read more at The Wall Street Journal. Tim O'Donnell

Wilton Gregory, the archbishop of Washington, D.C., tested negative for the coronavirus for the third time during a 10-day quarantine in Rome on Saturday morning, and a few hours later, he officially became the first Black American to earn the rank of cardinal.

Gregory was among 11 men who traveled to the Vatican after Pope Francis had chosen to elevate them to the College of Cardinals last month. There were 13 new cardinals selected, but two opted out of going to Rome over coronavirus concerns.

The 72-year-old Gregory will be eligible to vote for the next pope, should it be necessary, until he turns 80.

Per The Washington Post, Gregory said he hopes to be a "voice for the African American community in the pope's ear," adding that his selection is an "important recognition that the African American, the Black Catholic community, is an important component within the larger, universal church."

The ceremony inside St. Peter's Basilica reflected the times, as the new cardinals sat in socially distanced rows while wearing masks. Read more at The Washington Post. Tim O'Donnell

Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel on Saturday held a pre-Georgia Senate runoff "meet and greet" at the Cobb County GOP office in Marietta, Georgia. CNN's DJ Judd, who was on the scene, reported that a fair amount of the conversation around the event revolved around President Trump, rather than Sens. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) and David Perdue (R-Ga.), who are both in competitive races to retain their seats in the upper chamber.

Voters in attendance reportedly wanted to hear about general election recount efforts around the country, and one person asked McDaniel why Georgia voters should "trust" the runoff elections when they've "already been decided." McDaniel argued that they haven't been decided, and, in fact, look hopeful for Republicans at the moment, adding that "if you lose your faith and you don't vote ... that will decide it."

McDaniel remained upbeat throughout, and appeared to have strong support from the crowd by the end when she received a round of applause after telling the audience Trump would want them to get out and vote for Loeffler and Perdue. But the doubt-filled question did appear to highlight some of the challenges the party will face as the Trump campaign continues to push unfounded allegations of voter fraud. Tim O'Donnell

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday said Iran would not leave the killing of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, one of Iran's top nuclear scientists whom Israeli and American intelligence officials suspected led Tehran's nuclear weapons program, "unanswered." Rouhani blamed Israel for the assassination — "once again, the evil hands of global arrogance and the Zionist mercenaries were stained with the blood of an Iranian son," he said — and warned of retaliation "in due time."

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei didn't mention Israel in his response, but he said Iranian officials must commit to "pursuing this crime and punishing its perpetrators and those who commanded it."

Israel hasn't publicly commented on the incident, but U.S. officials told The New York Times that Jerusalem was indeed behind Friday's attack. It's unclear how much the U.S. knew before it took place, but the two countries are close allies and often share intelligence on Iran.

Although there was no official word from the Israeli government, the country reportedly put its embassies on high alert around the world. The military, however, reportedly remains on "routine footing," perhaps indicating that Israel expects a potential Iranian retaliation to be on a smaller scale. Read more at The New York Times. Tim O'Donnell