POLITICO Playbook: McConnell: Quit the charade, impeachment is a ‘political exercise’  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  SENATE MAJORITY LEADER MITCH MCCONNELL on “Fox and Friends” this morning: “Do you think Chuck Schumer is impartial?  Do you think Elizabeth Warren is impartial?  Bernie Sanders is impartial?

The Flag in the Whirlwind: An Update from CT's President  —  Why our editor in chief spoke out against Trump, and why the conversation must continue.  —  Reader responses to Mark Galli's recent editorial have spanned the spectrum.  We have received countless notes of encouragement from readers who were profoundly moved.

Impeachment live updates: McConnell, Pelosi dig in on impasse over Trump's Senate trial  —  Both sides dug in Monday in the impasse over a Senate trial of President Trump, with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) chiding House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif) for the delay …

Tax Reform Has Delivered for Workers  —  Two years later the data show that investment has increased, with wages and job participation rising.  —  It's been two years since President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act into law.  To the delight of supply-siders, the law contained …

Exclusive: John Bolton hits Trump for bluffing on North Korea nukes  —  In his sharpest criticism yet of his old workplace, John Bolton suggested the Trump administration is bluffing about stopping North Korea's nuclear ambitions — and soon might need to admit publicly that its policy failed badly.

New Emails Reveal Internal Competition Between Fox News Media Networks  —  “He is doing Maria Bartiromo you know — much lower ratings than us and I say this in an endearing way,” a Lou Dobbs producer told Treasury Sec. Steven Mnuchin's spokesperson.  —  Cable news booking is a competitive business …

Obama talks up Warren behind closed doors to wealthy donors  —  Sen. Elizabeth Warren has spent her campaign railing against the donor class, making it known she doesn't want their help.  —  She has publicly bashed millionaires, has sworn off high dollar fundraisers and has refused large checks from Democratic bundlers.

How ‘Centrist Bias’ Hurts Sanders and Warren  —  The media has a bigger problem than liberal bias.  —  John F. Harris is about as mainstream as the mainstream media gets.  He spent 21 years at The Washington Post, including as its political editor.  Then he became the founding editor of Politico, where he is now a columnist.

Special Report: Iran's leader ordered crackdown on unrest - ‘Do whatever it takes to end it’  —  (Reuters) - After days of protests across Iran last month, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appeared impatient.  Gathering his top security and government officials together, he issued an order: Do whatever it takes to stop them.

China orders Christians to rewrite the Bible for the era of President Xi  —  Chinese Communists want all religious texts to fall in with the party line, or they will be rewritten  —  As the world prepares to celebrate Christmas, Chinese Communists have announced plans to rewrite the Bible …

Giuliani pals leveraged GOP access to seek Ukraine gas deal  —  Andrew Favorov, the No. 2 at Ukraine's state-run gas company Naftogaz, says he sat on a red leather bench seat and listened wide-eyed as the men boasted of their connections to President Donald Trump and proposed a deal …

White evangelicals fear atheists and Democrats would strip away their rights.  Why?  —  Right-wing media is warning of a civil war — and urging evangelicals to stock up on guns  —  As the House has moved through the impeachment of President Trump, voices on the extreme right have been arguing …

ROID RAGE ISIS is rebuilding ‘like Al-Qaeda on steroids’ as expert warns sleeper cells will unleash ‘decade of terror’ in Europe  —  ISIS is rapidly rebuilding in Iraq after being transformed into “Al-Qaeda on steroids”, warn regional terror experts.  —  The worrying news comes amid fears thousands …

Boeing Names David L. Calhoun to Replace Dennis Muilenburg as CEO  —  *Boeing Names David L. Calhoun as President, CEO  —  *Boeing Names Lawrence W. Kellner as Chairman  —  Boeing Co. BA -1.65% Chief Executive Dennis Muilenburg has been replaced by David L. Calhoun as the aerospace giant deals …

Mike Bloomberg is plowing millions of dollars into a secretive tech firm he founded months ago to power his 2020 presidential bid  — A technology company called Hawkfish, with former executives from Facebook and Foursquare, is helping Bloomberg's 2020 presidential bid.

Trump campaign plagued by groups raising tens of millions in his name  —  As President Donald Trump raises money for his reelection campaign, he's competing for cash with a growing mass of pro-Trump PACs, dark money groups and off-brand Facebook advertisers neither affiliated with nor endorsed …

Inside Giuliani's new push to flip the script on Trump's impeachment  —  President Donald Trump's personal attorney continues to move ahead with new allegations against Democrats on Ukraine but his evidence is vague at best.  —  WASHINGTON — Even as President Donald Trump awaits a trial in the Senate …

Judge changes mind in important First Amendment case  —  Last week, I wrote about a case in which the Fifth Circuit, in a unanimous decision, ruled that a suit could proceed against a Black Lives Matter activist for violence he didn't commit or encourage.  The police officer who brought …