Trump appoints speechwriter fired for attending conference with white nationalists to commission that preserves Holocaust memorials  —  WASHINGTON — A former speechwriter fired from the White House in 2018 for attending a conference at which white supremacists were also present has been appointed …

Trump's legal adviser Jenna Ellis in 2016 called him an ‘idiot’ and said his supporters didn't care about ‘facts or logic’  —  (CNN)Jenna Ellis has been one of President Donald Trump's most ardent defenders since joining his campaign as a legal adviser and surrogate a year ago …

Trump team looks to box in Biden on foreign policy by lighting too many fires to put out  —  Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump's order of a further withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan and Iraq is the latest foreign policy move on a growing list in his final weeks in office that are meant …

These Four Groups Will Likely Be First to Get COVID-19 Vaccine  —  A pharmacist gives Jennifer Haller, left, the first shot in the first-stage safety study clinical trial of a potential vaccine for COVID-19.  —  Vaccine supplies will be limited at first, yet getting the shots to the right people …

Sound and fury  —  While Trump's attempts to cling to the White House collapse into farce, malevolent efforts to aid him set the stage for troubles to come  —  Good evening.  Voting in the 2020 presidential election ended 15 days ago.  The inauguration happens in 63 days.  —  The Latest

California doctors' top brass attended French Laundry dinner with Newsom  —  OAKLAND — California Medical Association officials were among the guests seated next to Gov. Gavin Newsom at a top California political operative's opulent birthday dinner at the French Laundry restaurant this month.

Trump Campaign Attorneys Admit ‘There Is No Evidence’ of ‘Any Fraud’ in Connection with Challenged Ballots in Bucks County, Pa.  —  Attorneys representing President Donald Trump's re-election campaign in challenging thousands of ballots in Bucks County on Wednesday agreed to sign court documents informing …

Presidential Transition Live Updates: Pelosi Expected to be Re-elected Speaker as Democrats' Majority Shrinks  —  Democrats nominated Nancy Pelosi for another term as House speaker as they face a shrinking majority that will make it tougher for them to push President-elect Joe Biden's agenda.

Time to call out the GOP's new Jim Crow tactics  —  The Wayne County Board of Canvassers, which oversees elections in Detroit, provoked outrage Tuesday night after its members deadlocked over whether to certify its county's results for the presidential election.

Are Republicans Really Favored in Georgia?  —  ANALYSIS  —  Control of the Senate is going to come down to two Jan. 5 runoffs in Georgia.  Sen. David Perdue came a hair's breadth from winning his race against Jon Ossoff outright, but ultimately fell just short of 50% plus one.

States That Imposed Few Restrictions Now Have the Worst Outbreaks  —  Coronavirus cases are rising in almost every U.S. state.  But the surge is worst now in places where leaders neglected to keep up forceful virus containment efforts or failed to implement basic measures like mask mandates …

900 on Mayo Clinic staff have contracted coronavirus in last two weeks  —  All 32 beds in dedicated Covid ICU at Mayo are now full, clinic adding more beds  —  ROCHESTER, Minn. — Over 900 Mayo Clinic staff have contracted COVID-19 in the past two weeks, according to a Tuesday briefing by Dr. Amy Williams, dean of clinical practice.

President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate and Appoint the Following Individuals to Key Administration Posts  —  Today, President Donald J. Trump announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to key positions in his Administration:  —  Brian P. Brooks, of Colorado …

We came much closer to an election catastrophe than many realize  —  As President Trump refuses to concede that he lost the election, and his dead-enders trot out increasingly bizarre conspiracy theories and legal tantrums, we are witnessing an attack on democracy that is at turns sickening and comical.

Half of Republicans say Biden won because of a ‘rigged’ election: Reuters/Ipsos poll  —  (Reuters) - About half of all Republicans believe President Donald Trump “rightfully won” the U.S. election but that it was stolen from him by widespread voter fraud that favored Democratic President-elect Joe Biden …

Mexico, Outraged at Arrest of Ex-Official, Threatened to Toss U.S. Agents  —  Mexican officials made the threat after weeks of anger at the surprise arrest of a former defense minister.  Their gambit appears to have worked — the charges were dropped.  —  From the moment U.S. federal agents arrested …

Election Night with Biden's Data Guru  —  The last time chief analytics officer Becca Siegel had been inside Joe Biden's sprawling campaign headquarters in Center City Philadelphia, her department had about 15 staffers on its payroll.  That was in March.  In late October, her team had ballooned …

McConaughey says he'd consider running for Texas governor  —  Matthew McConaughey says he'd consider trading acting for politics by running for governor of Texas.  —  “I don't know.  I mean, that wouldn't be up to me.  It would be up to the people more than it would me,” the “True Detective” …

GOP increasingly accepts Trump's defeat — but not in public  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — When Kamala Harris returned to the Senate this week for the first time as vice president-elect, her Republican colleagues offered their congratulations and Sen. Lindsey Graham greeted her with a fist bump.

How Georgia Turned Blue  —  In 2008, Barack Obama won about 47 percent of the vote in Georgia, a huge improvement for the Democrats from four years earlier, when John Kerry received just 41 percent in the state.  And with the Atlanta metro area booming in population, it seemed like a state …

Georgia vote discrepancies reconciled on last day of recount  —  Election officials corrected vote counting mistakes and explained an allegation by the Republican Party about miscounted DeKalb County ballots on Wednesday, the final day of Georgia's manual recount.

Coronavirus cases in Texas are soaring again.  But this time Gov. Greg Abbott says no lockdown is coming.  —  The last time case numbers were this high, Abbott closed bars and urged Texans to avoid summer holiday gatherings.  This time, he's staying the course, relying on a 2-month-old blueprint …

Lawsuit: Tyson managers bet money on how many workers would contract COVID-19  —  A wrongful death lawsuit tied to COVID-19 infections in a Waterloo pork processing plant alleges that during the initial stages the pandemic, Tyson Foods ordered employees to report for work …

Bill Belichick Calls For U.S. To Take Action Against Turkey, Azerbaijan For ‘Unprovoked And Deadly Attacks On Armenians’  —  BOSTON (CBS) — Bill Belichick's press conference took an unexpected turn into global politics on Wednesday morning.  —  It happened after the Patriots' head coach …

Been injured in an election?  Call Rudy Giuliani now!  —  Hi!  I'm Rudy Giuliani!  Have you been injured in an election?  Do you think you should be president, but due to an unexpected setback, you've wound up short by thousands of votes in key states?  Hire me, and you will get the settlement you deserve!

Byron York's Daily Memo: How Republicans see what Trump is doing  —  Welcome to Byron York's Daily Memo newsletter.  —  Was this email forwarded to you?  Sign up here to receive the newsletter.  —  HOW REPUBLICANS SEE WHAT TRUMP IS DOING: It's been 15 days since the presidential election …

How Twitter and Facebook plan to handle Trump's accounts when he leaves office.  —  Many world leaders generally have wider latitude on Twitter and Facebook because their comments and posts are regarded as political speech that is in the realm of public interest.

‘Confusion and chaos’: Republicans denounce Trump's latest purge  —  Sen. Shelley Moore Capito was scheduled to speak with the government's top cybersecurity official on Wednesday.  But the night before, Christopher Krebs was cast out of a job.  —  “I was going to tell him thank you for a good job” …

The Last Children of Down Syndrome  —  Every few weeks or so, Grete Fält-Hansen gets a call from a stranger asking a question for the first time: What is it like to raise a child with Down syndrome?  —  Sometimes the caller is a pregnant woman, deciding whether to have an abortion.

Kevin McCarthy, the House Minority Leader, Doesn't Think Trump Is Going Away  —  The California Republican believes his party's victories in 2020 came thanks to the president, not in spite of him: “He brought turnout.”  —  WASHINGTON — For all the drama around the presidential race …

Exclusive: U.S. investigators were told to take ‘no further action’ on Caterpillar, ex-client of Barr  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Before William Barr became President Donald Trump's choice to lead the U.S. Department of Justice, he represented Caterpillar Inc, a Fortune 100 company, in a federal criminal investigation by the department.

Biden approaches 80 million votes in historic victory  —  President-elect Joe Biden's winning tally is approaching a record 80 million votes as Democratic bastions continue to count ballots and the 2020 election cracks turnout records.  —  Biden has already set a record for the highest number …

Seven governors: Americans need to stay home this Thanksgiving  —  Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat, is governor of Michigan.  Mike DeWine, a Republican, is governor of Ohio.  Tony Evers, a Democrat, is governor of Wisconsin.  Tim Walz, a Democrat, is governor of Minnesota.

‘Tired to the bone’: Hospitals overwhelmed with virus cases  —  Overwhelmed hospitals are converting chapels, cafeterias, waiting rooms, hallways, even a parking garage into patient treatment areas.  Staff members are desperately calling around to other medical centers in search of open beds.

Danish Study Questions Use of Masks to Protect Wearers  —  Masks prevent people from transmitting the coronavirus to others, scientists now agree.  But a new trial failed to document protection from the virus among the wearers.  —  Researchers in Denmark reported on Wednesday that surgical masks …