Joe Biden on cusp of clinching victory  —  Joe Biden has pulled closer to President Donald Trump in Georgia and Pennsylvania, slowly expanding his pathways to victory as the campaigns brace for the release of results Thursday that could put the contest out of reach for the president.

Long at odds with Trump, Defense Secretary Esper has prepared a resignation letter, say officials  —  WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Mark Esper has prepared a letter of resignation, according to three current defense officials.  —  It's not uncommon for Cabinet secretaries to prepare undated letters …

Election 2020 Live Updates: Protests and Legal Skirmishes as Counting Continues in Final Six States … Senate tally includes 65 seats not up for election.  —  Nevada has about 190,000 ballots still to be counted, the secretary of state said.  Ninety percent of them are from Clark County …

GOP Senate wins wreak havoc on Biden transition plans  —  Republicans' likely hold on the Senate is forcing Joe Biden's transition team to consider limiting its prospective Cabinet nominees to those who Mitch McConnell can live with, according to people familiar with the matter.

Where Presidential Election Votes Are Still Being Counted … Loading...  With both President Trump and Joe Biden still short of the 270 electoral votes needed to claim victory, anxious Americans are left with little to do but be patient and wait as election officials in key swing states furiously work …

LIVE UPDATES: Judge dismisses President Trump's lawsuit in Georgia  —  ATLANTA — The country is watching Georgia as it remains one of the key battleground states that has not been called in the presidential election.  —  Georgia, Pennsylvania, Nevada, North Carolina, Arizona and Alaska races have not been called by ABC News.

N.Y.P.D. Anti-Harassment Official Accused of Racist Rants  —  The official was relieved of his command after City Council investigators amassed evidence that he posted vitriolic messages online under the name “Clouseau.”  —  For more than 20 years, an online chat board called the Rant …

A Massive “Stop the Count” Facebook Group Has Ties to Republican Operatives  —  For indispensable reporting on the coronavirus crisis, the election, and more, subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter.  —  A rapidly growing Facebook group falsely accusing Democrats of “scheming” …

Dem leaders warn liberal rhetoric could blow Georgia races  —  Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her top lieutenants had a stark warning for Democrats on Thursday: Swing too far left and they're all but certain to blow their chances in the Georgia runoff that will determine which party controls the Senate.

Trump's Special Treatment on Twitter Would End With Biden Win  — For now, violating posts get warning label, not removal  — But ‘world leader’ newsworthiness rules wouldn't apply  —  As U.S. president, Donald Trump receives special treatment from Twitter Inc. when he violates …

Trump ‘turning up the heat’ with rhetoric does not help his legal case over ballots, says Andrew McCarthy  —  ‘Turning up the heat politically does not help persuade the judges,’ McCarthy argues  —  Fox News Go  —  President Trump's “provocative” comments could dissuade the Supreme Court …

In latest batch, Trump gets share of votes he would need to reclaim Arizona.  But next rounds of ballots present new challenges  —  As Maricopa County released the results from 140,000 more ballots on Wednesday night and Thursday morning, President Donald Trump received almost the exact share …

Trump's Tweeting Isn't Crazy.  It's Strategic, Typos and All.  —  A network of right-wing operatives and activists — and the president himself — spread disinformation about Joe Biden with one simple hashtag.  —  Ms. Dreyfuss is a journalist at the Harvard Shorenstein Center's Technology and Social Change project.

Counties with worst virus surges overwhelmingly voted Trump  —  U.S. voters went to the polls starkly divided on how they see President Donald Trump's response to the coronavirus pandemic, with a surprising twist: In places where the virus is most rampant now, Trump enjoyed enormous support.

The Repudiation  —  The 2020 election, it appears, was a staggering repudiation of Donald Trump.  Of him.  Personally.  —  You're not hearing this right now because the right is in denial about the results as it works through the stages of Kubler-Ross grief.

The final implosion of Trump's Fox News propagandists  —  With President Trump mounting a frantic, last-ditch effort to stop the counting of votes that could doom his reelection, his Fox News propagandists are wheeling into action: One after another, they are raging that the election …