Barr Hands Prosecutors the Authority to Investigate Voter Fraud Claims  —  The attorney general said that he had authorized “instances” of investigative steps but that inquiries should not be based on specious claims.  —  WASHINGTON — Attorney General William P. Barr …

Growing Discomfort at Law Firms Representing Trump in Election Lawsuits  —  Some lawyers at Jones Day and Porter Wright, which have filed suits about the 2020 vote, said they were worried about undermining the electoral system.  —  Like many big law firms, Jones Day, whose roots …

White House, escalating tensions, orders agencies to rebuff Biden transition team  —  The Trump White House on Monday instructed its senior government leaders to block cooperation with President-elect Joe Biden's transition team, escalating a standoff that threatens to impede his takeover of the federal government in January.

Helping to Shape the Words of the President-Elect: A Presidential Historian  —  Jon Meacham, best known for writing about past presidents like Andrew Jackson and George Bush, has helped shape some of Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s most significant speeches.  —  WASHINGTON — Jon Meacham …

Trump Plans PAC in Hopes of Keeping Hold on G.O.P.  —  The PAC could accept donations from an unlimited number of people and spend to benefit other candidates, allowing the president to retain influence in a party remade largely in his image.  —  President Trump is planning to form …

Top Mississippi Republicans Fail to Acknowledge Biden Victory as Fitch Joins Trump Lawsuit  —  Two days after all major national networks called the 2020 presidential election for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, none of Mississippi's top Republican leaders has acknowledged the Democrats' victory.

As an ex-president, Trump could disclose the secrets he learned while in office, current and former officials fear  —  As president, Donald Trump selectively revealed highly classified information to attack his adversaries, gain political advantage and to impress or intimidate foreign governments …

Saeb Erekat, Top Palestinian Peace Negotiator, Dies at 65 After Contracting COVID  —  He was close to both Arafat and Abbas, and considered one of the main voices of the Palestinians on the world stage  —  Dr. Saeb Erekat, a prominent Palestinian negotiator and Secretary General …

Bishop Harry Jackson Jr., Trump evangelical adviser, has died  —  Bishop Harry Jackson of Maryland speaks at the unveiling of the “Justice Declaration,” a statement by Christian leaders on criminal justice, in Washington, D.C., on June 20, 2017.  RNS photo by Adelle M. Banks  —  Flip

Trump slows Biden transition with denials, lawsuits  —  As the morning sun bathed the White House grounds on an unseasonably warm November Monday, the rattle of construction could be heard nearby as workers began erecting the viewing stands for the next president's inaugural ceremony.

Trump Administration Removes Scientist in Charge of Assessing Climate Change  —  Michael Kuperberg was told he would no longer oversee the National Climate Assessment.  The job is expected to go to a climate-change skeptic, according to people familiar with the changes.

Nate Cohn Explains What the Polls Got Wrong  —  Last week, Joe Biden was elected the forty-sixth President of the United States, defeating Donald Trump by what is likely to be several percentage points nationwide.  The margins in crucial swing states, however, were closer than polling averages suggested that they would be.

No Evidence of Systematic Fraud in U.S. Elections, International Observer Mission Reports  —  A team of international observers invited by the Trump administration has issued a preliminary report giving high marks to the conduct of last week's elections—and it criticizes President …

'We're not some demonic cult': Democrats fume over faulty messaging  —  House Democrats have the majority and are ripping each other to shreds.  Senate Democrats fell short for the third cycle in a row, but are only grousing about getting out-messaged by Republicans.

Be Alarmed  —  I hope I am over wary; but if I am not, there is, even now, something of ill-omen amongst us.  —Abraham Lincoln, Lyceum Address, January 27, 1838 I know, I know.  Donald Trump is a petulant child, and congressional Republicans are just humoring him.

Did Sen. Kelly Loeffler take advantage of a Trump tax loophole to write off campaign jet?  —  Records suggest Loeffler may have deducted a jet she used on campaign trips, letting the government eat the cost  —  Sen. Kelly Loeffler, a Georgia Republican now seeking to hold her seat …

Former Marine Paul Whelan speaks from Russian prison: ABC News exclusive  —  It's his first interview since his arrest on spying allegations two years ago.  —  Referendum will allow Putin to stay in power until 2036  —  The referendum allows Russian President Vladimir Putin to run again …

White House official and former GOP political operative Michael Ellis named as NSA general counsel  —  The Pentagon general counsel has named a White House official and former GOP political operative to be the top lawyer at the National Security Agency, the U.S. government's largest …

Election Day should not last two months  —  The absurd delays in ballot-counting across the country add weight to arguments against the wide use of early- and mail-in voting.  They also should make opponents of early voting consider other alternatives that would make voting easier.

Exclusive: Valerie Biden Owens previews brother's governing style  —  Valerie Biden Owens, her brother's closest political adviser for 49 years, told me in an interview for “Axios on HBO” that President-elect Joe Biden plans to ignore the distractions of President Trump while building and launching a government.

Obama Official Ben Rhodes Admits Biden Camp is Already Working With Foreign Leaders: Exactly What Flynn Did  —  In late 2016, the FBI investigated Gen. Michael Flynn when he was a transition official for the possible “crime” of talking to Russia about foreign policy.  Why can Biden do this?

Exclusive: Esper, on his way out, says he was no yes man  —  As had long been expected, President Donald Trump fired Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Monday, cutting short what would have otherwise been his final months at the Pentagon, in anticipation of President-elect Joe Biden's transition in January.

In first for Fed, U.S. central bank says climate poses stability risks  —  (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve for the first time called out climate change among risks enumerated in its biannual financial stability report, and warned about the potential for abrupt changes in asset values in response to a warming planet.

This election wasn't a zero-sum game, and it's going to be messy  —  Politics, like most interests with competing claims, is a zero-sum game: One side's gains are the other's losses.  This year's national elections may defy that theory, with troubling news for both sides.

Status of High Stakes Election Continues to Be Unclear  —  Now that the media has declared Joe Biden the next president of the United States, let's take a look at the state of play:  —  1) Donald Trump is legally the president until his term expires at noon on Jan. 20, 2021.