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 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 …

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.

New Pfizer Results: Coronavirus Vaccine Is Safe and 95% Effective  —  The company said it planned to apply for emergency approval from the Food and Drug Administration “within days.”  —  The drug maker Pfizer said on Wednesday that its coronavirus vaccine was 95 percent effective …

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.

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

'It's a terrible situation': Inside a government bureaucrat's pressure-filled decision to delay the transition  —  What's at risk when the President doesn't concede  —  Washington (CNN)As the only obstacle between President-elect Joe Biden and the formal start of the presidential transition …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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” …

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.

Trump Campaign Officials Started Pressuring Georgia's Secretary of State Long Before the Election  —  The Republican secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, rejected repeated demands to endorse Trump.  As the official overseeing the voting, he believed he should remain neutral.

Lindsey Graham Is the Worst  —  A former staffer explains why Graham is everything that's wrong with American politics.  —  I worked for Lindsey Graham's 2016 presidential campaign as his national director of ballot access and delegates.  As part of his senior staff, I spent …

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 …

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 …

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!

‘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” …

Trump's effort to overturn the election results may be inept.  But it's still a scandal.  —  WASHINGTON — Forget Russia's interference in the 2016 election.  Or Trump's impeachment for asking Ukraine to dig up dirt on Joe Biden.  —  Arguably the biggest political scandal we've ever seen …

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.

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 …

‘This is not a television program’: Mulvaney slams Giuliani's role on Trump campaign legal team  —  Former acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney on Wednesday slammed Rudy Giuliani's leadership of the Trump campaign's election-related legal challenges, saying the effort to reverse …

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 …

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 …

'I'm not a f—ing socialist': Florida Democrats are having a postelection meltdown  —  TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — It wasn't just one bad cycle.  For Democrats in Florida, Election Day 2020 was a tipping point in a long, painful buildup to irrelevancy.  —  After suffering crushing losses …

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 …

If Congress doesn't act, 12 million Americans could lose unemployment aid by the end of the year  —  Deadlines set by Congress early in the pandemic will result in about 12 million Americans losing unemployment insurance by the year's end, according to a report released Wednesday …

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.

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.

8,000 fraudulent voter registration applications filed by pair in Hawthorne election  —  A man who tried to run for mayor in Hawthorne is among two people charged in a voter fraud case in which thousands of fraudulent voter registration applications were allegedly submitted on behalf of homeless people.