The Electoral College play  —  As the weaknesses of President Trump's legal cases to overturn Joe Biden's win become clearer, Republicans are talking more about the Electoral College — hinting at an extreme last-chance way for Trump to cling to power.  —  What we're watching …

In poll watcher affidavits, Trump campaign offers no evidence of fraud in Detroit ballot-counting  —  Inside Detroit's absentee-ballot-counting center, one Republican poll watcher complained that workers were wearing Black Lives Matter gear.  She thought one of them — a “man of intimidating size” — had followed her too closely.

Lawyers Litigating for Trump Suddenly Remember Their Licenses Are on the Line If They Lie to a Judge  —  There's a big difference between a) waving around a stack of affidavits in a safe space and b) bringing your claims before a judge.  We saw that difference on Tuesday in the Trump campaign's case in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.

Scoop: Divisive Pentagon hire may rush troop withdrawals before Trump's exit  —  President Trump's newly installed acting Pentagon chief is bringing on a senior adviser in a sign the administration wants to accelerate the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the Middle East before the end …

Time is running out for Trump — and Republicans who coddle him  —  John R. Bolton served as national security adviser under President Trump and is the author of “The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir.”  —  As of this writing, the Republican Party has not suffered permanent damage …

How Hard Is It to Overturn an American Election?  —  And so it has come to this: The president of the United States is trying to overturn the results of a national election he unambiguously lost with a combination of petulant whining, spiteful and flailing executive action, and magic.

Dallas' Robert Jeffress, leading pro-Trump evangelical conservative: ‘Biden is president-elect’  —  Trump ally concedes that's a ‘bitter pill’ but says ‘Christians are not hypocrites’ and must accept Biden's victory  —  WASHINGTON — One of President Donald Trump's top evangelical Christian allies …

Covid-19 Live Updates: As U.S. Breaks Hospitalization and Case Records, Even N.Y., N.J. and Connecticut Are Worried  —  For the first time, new daily cases in the U.S. passed 139,000 and hospitalizations exceeded 61,000.  The C.D.C. said masks protect the wearer, too.

The New Yorker to Jeffrey Toobin: Beat It!  —  The top writer had been suspended last month after exposing himself during a video call with colleagues.  —  The New Yorker has fired staff writer Jeffrey Toobin after a weeks-long investigation into an incident in which he exposed himself during a video call with colleagues last month.

What a Biden-Harris administration should prioritize on its first day  —  Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat, represents Massachusetts in the U.S. Senate.  —  As Democrats celebrate the election of President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala D. Harris, we need to have an important conversation …

Trump may accept results but never concede he lost, aides say  —  WASHINGTON — There is a growing expectation among President Donald Trump's advisers that he will never concede that he lost re-election, even after votes are certified in battleground states over the coming weeks …

Lankford guarantees “peaceful transition,” talks about COVID vaccine prospects  —  The Oklahoma Senator says Friday becomes the next important date, as the GSA can then start certifying the states' results  —  TULSA — Twin crises continue to create confusion for people across the country …

An early poll of Georgia's twin Senate runoffs shows tight races  —  A poll from a Republican-leaning national firm shows neither political party with a clear advantage in the twin January runoffs that are likely to decide control of the U.S. Senate.  —  The poll showed Kelly Loeffler at 49% …

Civil war brewing inside Proud Boys as top leader says he's done pretending he isn't a Nazi  —  The far-right Proud Boys gang has long denied that it is a white nationalist organization and has instead claimed that it only exists to defend “Western Civilization.”

Biden poised to announce his chief of staff as early as Thursday, with Ron Klain the leading finalist  —  (CNN)President-elect Joe Biden is poised to name his White House chief of staff as early as Thursday, with longtime adviser Ron Klain the leading finalist for the post, three people familiar with the matter tell CNN.

Judge rejects Trump team's request for secret evidence in lawsuit over Maricopa County votes  —  An attorney representing President Donald Trump's reelection team, in a lawsuit alleging poll workers “incorrectly rejected” Election Day votes, asked a Maricopa County Superior Court judge …

To my family who chose Trump over me: Was it worth it?  —  Richard L. Eldredge is a contributing editor at Atlanta magazine and the founder and editor in chief of the digital arts magazine, Eldredge ATL.  The views expressed here are his own.  Read more opinion on CNN.  —  (CNN)"Was it worth it?"

Biden Covid advisor says U.S. lockdown of 4 to 6 weeks could control pandemic and revive economy  — Dr. Michael Osterholm, a coronavirus advisor to President-elect Joe Biden, said a nationwide lockdown would help bring the virus under control in the U.S.  — He said the government …

Rubio says the GOP needs to reset after 2020  —  After the 2020 election, Republicans need to rebrand their party as the champions of working-class voters and steer away from its traditional embrace of big business, Sen. Marco Rubio said in an interview with Axios.

Amid White House COVID-19 outbreak, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner pulled their 3 kids from a DC Jewish school  —  WASHINGTON (JTA) — Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump pulled their children out of a Jewish day school in Washington, D.C., two weeks before Election Day and three weeks after an outbreak …

Live updates: In one week new daily coronavirus cases in U.S. go from 104,000 to 145,000, latest all-time high  —  The Washington Post is providing this important information about the coronavirus for free.  For more free coverage of the coronavirus pandemic, sign up for our Coronavirus Updates newsletter …

Fox's Contempt for Trump Supporters Exposed in Off-Air Video  —  Watch this video of Fox News anchor Sandra Smith as she expresses her elitist contempt after a Trump supporter dares question The Mighty Fox News Channel's decision to declare His Fraudulency Joe Biden the winner of a hotly contested presidential election.

How Biden aims to amp up the government's fight against climate change  —  A new administration would enlist departments like Transportation, Agriculture and Treasury to advance its climate goals  —  President-elect Joe Biden is poised to embed action on climate change across the breadth …