General election 2019: Tories on course to win majority - exit poll  —  The Conservatives are set to win an overall majority of 86 in the general election, according to an exit poll for the BBC, ITV and Sky News.  —  The survey taken at UK polling stations suggests the Tories will get 368 MPs …

Trump Approves U.S.-China Trade Deal to Halt Dec. 15 Tariffs  — Deal includes promise by China to buy more U.S. farm goods  — Terms have been agreed, but legal text yet to be finalized  —  Terms of Trade is a daily newsletter that untangles a world embroiled in trade wars.  Sign up here.

Elizabeth Warren Draws Sharp Contrasts With Rivals in New Hampshire Speech  —  Ms. Warren, who has ramped up her criticism of her presidential opponents after months of avoiding conflict, issued another rebuke Thursday in a speech about the economy and corruption.

Democrats face post-impeachment dilemma: What if Trump offends again?  —  The threat of impeachment may be less of a deterrent than the Constitution's framers imagined.  —  “Should we stop stopping speeders if they still speed?” wondered Rep. Val Demings.  Andrew Harrer-Pool/Getty Images

Gaetz brings up Hunter Biden's past substance issues — and it immediately backfired  —  Debate surrounding the next amendment to be introduced quickly divulged into a tit-for-tat involving allegations of cocaine usage and driving under the influence charges.

Report: Trump's Ukraine Extortion Scheme Was Financed by Russia  —  President Trump is facing impeachment primarily for abusing his power for political gain, extorting a foreign country to discredit his political rivals.  The secondary aspect of the plot is that the target of his extortion is hardly random.

Biden's SC firewall in danger?  2020 front-runner's lead shrinks to new low.  —  Joe Biden might need to check his firewall.  —  The former vice president's lead in South Carolina keeps shrinking in Post and Courier-Change Research polls as the 2020 Democratic presidential primary gets closer …

Fox host lambasts Trump over ‘most sustained assault on press freedom in US history’  —  Chris Wallace, admired for breaking ranks with some in the conservative network, drew applause with most stinging critique yet  —  A leading host on Fox News, a conservative network notorious for its loyalty …

Fact check: Was Devin Nunes ‘vindicated’ by report on FBI's Trump investigation?  —  Rep. Devin Nunes this week said he was vindicated by a new inspector general report that detailed the origins of the FBI's surveillance of President Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign …

Paul Watson Throws Alex Jones Under The Bus In Sandy Hook Case  —  “This Sandy Hook stuff is killing us,” the far-right Infowars editor said in a 2015 email.  —  Far-right personality and longtime Infowars editor Paul Joseph Watson warned Alex Jones to stop pushing the lie …

Will Trump Debate a Democrat in 2020?  He's Not So Sure  —  The president's concern is not so much whom he will be debating but the commission that runs the debates.  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump is discussing with his advisers the possibility of sitting out the general election debates …

Giuliani's Partnership With Fraud Guarantee Revealed in Letter  —  A 2018 investor letter offers new clues about the work Rudy Giuliani was hired to do for Fraud Guarantee, a company founded by his now-indicted associates Lev Parnas and David Correia.  The letter has been handed over to the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan.

For the third time this year, GOP rejects election-security bill  —  Over the summer, a pair of senators - one Democrat and one Republican - partnered on a new election-security proposal called the Defending Elections from Threats by Establishing Redlines (DETER Act).

A plurality of Americans—but not of states—want Donald Trump impeached  —  The president continues to benefit from the constitution's pro-rural bias  —  Donald trump owes his presidency to America's quaint system of electing leaders.  Despite losing the popular vote …

Mongolian ambassador visited Mar-a-Lago before Trump Jr. got coveted permit to hunt rare sheep  —  PALM BEACH, Fla. - About four months before Donald Trump Jr. went to Mongolia in August, where he reportedly managed to get a coveted permit to kill a threatened-species of sheep after he shot …

South Carolina Punishes Poor Parents for Christmas  —  Days after the Trump administration finalized a proposal that will kick hundreds of thousands of people off food stamps, the state of South Carolina delivered its own special holiday present to the poor.

Doctor: Democrat Bloomberg, 77, is in ‘outstanding health’  —  NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Bloomberg is in “outstanding health,” but a letter from his doctor released Thursday notes that the 77-year-old Democratic presidential candidate is receiving treatment for several medical conditions, including an irregular heartbeat.