A Historic Number of Electors Defected, and Most Were Supposed to Vote for Clinton  —  The Electoral College on Monday voted for Donald J. Trump to win the presidency.  Seven electors, the most ever, voted for someone other than their party's nominee.  —  Of 306 electors pledged to vote for Donald J. Trump

Schumer fires video unit staff  —  Incoming Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer cleaned house last week in the Senate Democrats' internal video department, firing nearly all its employees amid plans to revamp the unit with a new digital operation aimed at creating viral social media content.

Austria's Far Right Signs a Cooperation Pact With Putin's Party  —  BERLIN — The leader of the Austrian far-right Freedom Party has signed what he called a cooperation agreement with Russia's ruling party and recently met with Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, the designated national security adviser …

How Apple Alienated Mac Loyalists  —  To die-hard fans, Apple Inc.'s Macintosh sometimes seems like an afterthought these days.  —  Mac upgrades, once a frequent ritual, are few and far between.  The Mac Pro, Apple's marquee computer, hasn't been refreshed since 2013.

Search Warrant Related to Clinton Emails Unsealed  —  The search warrant that authorized the FBI to examine a laptop computer in connection with Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server as secretary of state was released today.  —  A federal judge in New York ordered the warrant …

Exclusive: Families of Orlando nightclub shooting victims sue Facebook, Twitter and Google  —  Mourners embrace outside the wake for Pulse shooting victim Javier Jorge Reyes in Orlando, Florida, U.S. June 15, 2016 (Reuters)  —  Families of the victims of the Orlando gay nightclub shooting …

Wildcards add drama to Trump's West Wing picks  —  Donald Trump's transition team is planning to announce a number of key senior White House staff appointments imminently, but — perhaps befitting a president-elect who grew his fame on reality television — there is suspense around a few big names and positions.

Russia Missing from Trump's Top Defense Priorities, According to DoD Memo  —  Meanwhile, Pentagon brass say Moscow is the No. 1 threat to the United States.  —  A Pentagon memo outlining the incoming Trump administration's top “defense priorities” identifies defeating the Islamic State …

Inside the Desperate, Year-Long Hunt to Find Donald Trump's Rumored Apprentice Outtakes  —  Throughout the election, both the media and the Clinton camp were obsessed by outtakes from the reality show, amid allegations of hair-raising things said by the now president-elect.

Obama Said to Use 1953 Law to Block Drilling in Arctic, Atlantic  —  Obscure statute would grant permanent protection to areas  —  Restrictions on new oil leases may provoke legal challenge  —  President Barack Obama is preparing to block the sale of new offshore drilling rights …

Mobile official apologizes for Christmas tree at Trump rally removed from public park  —  President-elect Donald Trump speaks during a rally at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on Saturday, Dec. 17, 2016, in Mobile, Ala. In the background is a large cedar tree that was cut down at Public Safety Memorial Park …

Germany Releases Man in Deadly Berlin Market Attack  —  BERLIN — A horrific terrorist attack using a tractor-trailer to mow down a crowd at a Christmas market in central Berlin set off painful mourning across Germany on Tuesday as the authorities scrambled to determine who was behind the nation's bloodiest assault in decades.

Emergency Managers Charged Over Flint's Lead-Tainted Water  —  FLINT, Mich. (AP) — Michigan's attorney general filed more criminal charges Tuesday in the investigation of lead-tainted water in Flint, targeting two former state-appointed emergency managers who were running the troubled city …

Donald Trump's sons behind nonprofit selling access to president-elect  —  New Texas-based group not legally required to disclose its donors  —  A new Texas nonprofit led by Donald Trump's grown sons is offering access to the freshly-minted president during inauguration weekend …

Team Bernie: Hillary ‘F*cking Ignored’ Us in Swing States  —  Ever since election night—when Hillary Clinton tanked and Donald Trump became the next leader of the free world—the most prominent allies and alumni of Bernie Sanders's presidential campaign have maintained a succinct message for Team Hillary: We.

Democrats Had a Knife, and the G.O.P. Had a Gun  —  President Obama and Gov. Pat McCrory of North Carolina don't agree on many policy questions.  But they have found themselves facing a similar political situation this year.  And their very different reactions capture the deep — and alarming …

Poll: Dems more likely to unfriend people due to political posts  —  Democratic voters are almost three times as likely to have “blocked, unfriended, or stopped following someone on social media” after Donald Trump  —  's victory, according to a study released Monday.

Can Republican senators get to 60 seats in 2018?  —  (Photo by Melina Mara/The Washington Post)  —  The GOP's strong 2016 election showing raises a crucial question: Do Republicans have any chance of netting eight Senate seats - and a filibuster-proof majority - in 2018?

Trump adviser: Don't take Trump literally, ‘take him symbolically’  —  Take Donald Trump seriously but not literally — or better yet, take him symbolically, a member of the president-elect's transition executive committee advised Tuesday.  —  “No, no, no, no, don't take him literally …