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.

Trump prepares to launch a second term early, even without winning  —  He may fire department heads like the FBI's Chris Wray and Pentagon chief Mark Esper.  He could sign base-pleasing executive orders.  He might resume travel.  —  U.S. President Donald Trump speaks on election night …

‘Come on Now’: Michigan Judge Scoffs at and Tosses Trump Campaign Lawsuit Backed by ‘Hearsay’ Evidence  —  In President Donald Trump's second loss in court in a single day, a Michigan judge rejected the Trump campaign's bid to stop counting ballots without their inspectors present.

USPS processed 150,000 ballots after Election Day, jeopardizing thousands of votes  —  The number of mailed ballots not delivered by Nov. 3 is expected to grow as more postal data is released in the coming days.  —  More than 150,000 ballots were caught in U.S. Postal Service processing facilities …

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 …

Facebook Has An Internal Metric For “Violence And Incitement Trends.”  Right Now It's Rising.  —  As votes are being tallied across the country to determine the next US president, internal Facebook data shows that the company has seen a significant increase in what it calls “violence and incitement trends.”

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.

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.

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.

Trump's Special Twitter Treatment 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 …

Two states to require masks in public at all times, regardless of distance from others  —  Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) and Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker (R) issued a stricter mask mandates this week as coronavirus cases continue to surge across the nation.

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 …

A presidency fueled by lies finishes with the worst of them all  —  It's somehow fitting.  A presidency launched with lies, and fueled by them ever since, was destined to finish with the worst of them all.  —  Donald Trump's presidency began on Jan. 20, 2017, with what he asserted was …

POLITICO Playbook PM: Has anyone seen Donald Trump?  —  IS ANYONE ELSE SURPRISED the president has not done a news conference or interview in the last 24 hours?  As his campaign aides and lawyers fan across the country, President DONALD TRUMP has been uncharacteristically quiet.  (Except on Twitter, of course.)

Trump to speak from White House as vote count leans toward Biden  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump will address the nation on Wednesday evening as he trails his opponent and remaining swing states lean toward a Joe Biden presidency.  —  The commander in chief will deliver remarks …

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.

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.

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 …