State Department is preventing Biden from accessing messages from foreign leaders  —  Washington (CNN)A stack of messages from foreign leaders to President-elect Joe Biden are sitting at the State Department but the Trump administration is preventing him from accessing them …

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie on Barack Obama's ‘A Promised Land’  —  A PROMISED LAND  —  Barack Obama is as fine a writer as they come.  It is not merely that this book avoids being ponderous, as might be expected, even forgiven, of a hefty memoir, but that it is nearly always pleasurable to read …

This Election Result Won't Be Overturned  —  Recounts occasionally change margins in the hundreds, never in the tens of thousands.  —  It has been an eventful, unsettling year: A deadly virus struck without warning and claimed almost a quarter-million American lives; a lockdown demolished personal routines …

Scoop: Trump eyes digital media empire to take on Fox News  —  President Trump has told friends he wants to start a digital media company to clobber Fox News and undermine the conservative-friendly network, sources tell Axios.  —  The state of play: Some Trump advisers think Fox News …

Trump wants to make money off the fake ‘stolen election’ crisis he created.  Don't let him.  —  Republican donors beware!  Trump says he needs your money for legal challenges to the election, but the fine print says it won't be used that way.  —  For days, President Donald Trump has been blasting …

Evidence suggests several state Senate candidates were plants funded by dark money  —  MIAMI - Why would candidates for Florida Senate seats do no campaigning, no fundraising, have no issue platforms, nor make any effort to get votes?  —  Local 10 News has found evidence to suggest three …

Trump aides privately plot a flurry of moves in their final 10 weeks  —  On Monday, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows gathered senior aides on a call.  —  One of his goals: to plot the conservative policy moves they could push through in their final 10 weeks on immigration, trade, health care, China and school choice.

Biden Can Pass His Agenda If He Gives Republicans What They Want Most  —  The Democrats won the presidency, but they don't have what a parliamentary system would call a “government.”  Even if they win both Georgia Senate seats in the runoffs, they'll have just 50 Senate seats and will need …

Trump Stacks the Pentagon and Intel Agencies With Loyalists.  To What End?  —  So far, there is no evidence the appointees harbor a secret agenda or arrived with an action plan.  But their sudden appearance amounts to a purge of the Pentagon's top civilian hierarchy without recent precedent.

A Careful Voter-Fraud Review  —  On the menu today: a careful review of recent voter-fraud cases, and how this dispels the trite, inaccurate claims that “voter fraud doesn't exist”; perspective on what recent voter-fraud cases have proven and the scale of the problem; and something …

Trump's Post-Election Tactics Put Him in Unsavory Company  —  Denying defeat, claiming fraud and using government machinery to reverse election results are the time-honored tools of dictators.  —  MOSCOW — When the strongman ruler of Belarus declared an implausible landslide victory …

Snell & Wilmer withdraws from election lawsuit as Trump contests Arizona results  —  The largest law firm representing the Trump campaign or its allies in post-election litigation challenging votes in key states has withdrawn from an election lawsuit in Maricopa County, Arizona.

How to cover a coup — or whatever it is Trump is attempting  —  President Trump lost.  The nation knows it.  The world knows it.  And, although he won't admit it, he certainly knows it, too.  —  But because he is claiming otherwise — with his Republican enablers joining the chorus …

Trump Megadonors Contract Coronavirus, Joining Fellow Billionaire  —  “I thought we'd never get it,” Liz Uihlein, an outspoken critic of COVID-19 restrictions, told Uline employees.  “Well, Trump got it.”  —  LAKE FOREST, IL — Lake Forest billionaires Liz and Dick Uihlein have contracted the coronavirus …

Louisville police, county attorney's office hide 738,000 records in Explorer sex abuse case  —  Louisville Metro Police concealed at least 738,000 records documenting the sexual abuse of Explorer Scouts by two officers — then lied to keep the files from the public, records show.

Appeals court rules in favor of Harvard in affirmative action case, paving way for Supreme Court challenge  —  A federal appeals court on Thursday agreed with a lower court ruling that Harvard University does not intentionally discriminate against prospective Asian American students.

Notes on the State of the 2020 Election  —  Dear Readers: Check out our YouTube channel, UVACFP, later today for our latest Crystal Ball webinar.  It will feature the 22nd annual American Democracy Conference: We'll be hearing from New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie; CNN commentator Tara Setmayer …

Passenger Aboard First Cruise Ship to Return to Sailing in Caribbean Tests Positive for COVID-19  —  Passengers and non-essential crew are now isolating in their cabins as the ship heads back toward its departure point in Barbados  —  The first cruise ship to set sail in the Caribbean since …

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 …

'We're not going to stop': Lawmakers press ahead with Trump-era investigations  —  Donald Trump will be a private citizen in January.  But Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill are poised to carry on the investigations and legal battles that helped define his presidency.

Barr isn't just humoring Trump.  He's weaponizing law enforcement.  —  A new Justice Department memo could lead to bogus investigations  —  Attorney General William P. Barr issued a new policy Monday addressing opening investigations of the election.  Despite its conspicuous timing …

Stop wasting time on Trump's lawsuits.  More nefarious behavior is afoot.  —  The post-election news environment — like all political horse-race coverage — prioritizes tension and conflict over boring reality.  This is normally a ratings gambit, but in the present election environment …

What Is Trump's Legal Strategy?  Try to Block Certification of Biden Victory in States.  —  Effort to get state Republicans to appoint pro-Trump Electoral College votes is a long shot, president's advisers and election-law experts say  —  President Trump's campaign is pursuing a patchwork …

Trump endorses McDaniel to remain RNC chair, ponders 2024 run  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday endorsed Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel to stay on in her position, in what one source said could be a prelude to Trump's announcing plans to run for president in 2024.

Yes, dead people voted in this election and Democrats helped make it happen  —  Many Trump voters believe this election was unfair.  They're right.  —  Tucker: How Democrats guaranteed dead people voted in election  —  It's been more than a week since the final votes were cast …

Trump among long-shots to replace Alex Trebek as ‘Jeopardy!’ host … Let's meet today's contestants ...  Bookmakers are offering bets on who will be Alex Trebek's replacement as the host of “Jeopardy!”  — including longshot candidates such as President Trump.

Utah Man Driving 115 MPH Said He Was on His Way to Kill Former Missouri Senator: Police  —  STOPPED IN HIS TRACKS  —  A Utah man who was arrested after police clocked him driving more than 100 mph told state troopers he was on his way to Missouri to kill former Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-MO), Desert News reports.

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 …

Biden's choice of Ron Klain to run White House signals rejection of Trump-era chaos  —  President-elect Joe Biden has chosen longtime Washington operative Ronald A. Klain as White House chief of staff, sending an early signal that he intends to rely heavily on experience …

51 of 72 Wisconsin counties complete canvasses resulting in minor vote shift  —  More than two thirds of the counties in Wisconsin have submitted official election results after completing their canvasses.  —  The largest counties in the state including Milwaukee, Dane and Waukesha are still …

Fauci Says Covid Won't Be a Pandemic Much Longer, Thanks to Vaccines  — Coronavirus could remain endemic in populations, though: Fauci  — Virus mutation in Danish mink probably no vaccine threat  —  Covid won't be a pandemic for “a lot longer” thanks to rapid progress in vaccine development …