White House tells federal agencies to proceed with plans for Trump's February budget in latest sign of election defiance  —  Directive is latest sign that Trump aides are acting as if he won the election and won't leave office on Jan. 20  —  The White House budget office has instructed federal agencies …

The Jolt: The ‘orchestrated’ push to discredit Georgia's election sparks more GOP infighting  —  By Jim Galloway - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Patricia Murphy - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Greg Bluestein - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Tia Mitchell - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Supreme Court appears wary of striking down Obamacare  —  The Supreme Court on Tuesday signaled it's unlikely to tear down Obamacare over a Republican-backed lawsuit challenging the landmark health care law.  —  The justices' lines of questioning during a two-hour-long argument session suggest …

Official who once called Obama a ‘terrorist leader’ takes over Pentagon policy  —  Anthony Tata, a retired brigadier general whose nomination for a top Pentagon job collapsed this summer due to Islamophobic tweets and other controversial statements, began overseeing policy for the Defense Department on Tuesday.

Agency Review Teams  —  Meet the Biden-Harris agency review teams  —  Agency review teams are responsible for understanding the operations of each agency, ensuring a smooth transfer of power, and preparing for President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris and their cabinet to hit the ground running on Day One.

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 …

Republican National Committee staff blindsided by layoffs  —  (CNN)A round of layoffs at the Republican National Committee Monday blindsided staff, three sources familiar with what happened told CNN, as President Donald Trump continues his legal push to contest Joe Biden's victory.

One in five COVID-19 patients develop mental illness within 90 days - study  —  LONDON (Reuters) - Many COVID-19 survivors are likely to be at greater risk of developing mental illness, psychiatrists said on Monday, after a large study found 20% of those infected with the coronavirus are diagnosed …

Trump Forms PAC in Hopes of Keeping Hold on G.O.P.  —  The PAC can 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 has formed …

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 …

Inside the Lincoln Project's new campaign targeting Trump's law firm  —  President Trump is trying to steal the election, but he couldn't get far if it weren't for his enablers.  There's Attorney General William P. Barr, who has granted prosecutors approval to pursue fake voter fraud cases to make them appear real.

GOP's Steel wins California House race after Democrat Rouda concedes  —  GOP candidate Michelle Steel will be the new representative for California's 48th Congressional District after Rep. Harley Rouda (D-Calif.) conceded on Tuesday.  —  “We did not win this election.

Republican challenge to Maricopa County election involves fewer than 200 ballots, attorneys say  —  Maria Polletta Andrew OxfordArizona Republic  —  Republican officials behind a lawsuit alleging poll workers “incorrectly rejected” votes cast in person on Election Day will make their case …

‘My faith is shaken’: The QAnon conspiracy theory faces a post-Trump identity crisis  —  President Trump's defeat and the week-long disappearance of its anonymous prophet have forced supporters of the baseless movement to rethink their beliefs: ‘Have we all been conned?’

How ‘SNL’ recreated Kamala Harris' white suit in under 90 minutes  —  When Kamala Harris took the stage in Wilmington, Delaware, on Saturday night around 8:30 p.m. to address the nation as its new vice president-elect, she did so wearing a white Carolina Herrera suit that nodded to the suffragette movement.

GOP Sen. Thom Tillis wins reelection in North Carolina  —  Republican Sen. Thom Tillis won reelection against Democrat Cal Cunningham in North Carolina's Senate race.  —  Cunningham, a former state senator who became embroiled in a sexting scandal late in the campaign …

Joe Biden hits the phones, calls European leaders  —  The wait to speak to Joe Biden is over for several European leaders.  —  The U.S. president-elect's first call to a foreign head of government was to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday, but European leaders didn't have to wait too long to get their turn.

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.