Trump legal team shuns Sidney Powell as insiders and national security officials see no evidence supporting her voting machine claims  —  With Trump-allied insiders distancing themselves from massive and unproven election fraud allegations being made by Sidney Powell, the president's legal team announced …

Goodbye To All That  —  Leaving the GOP.  —  1 hr ago  —  Welcome to Tim's bonus weekend Triad.  —  Join  —  1. TimoGOP 1995-2020  —  In 1992 as a puckish elementary school student I bet my lifelong Republican, FDR-hating, Washington Times subscribing grandmother $1 that Bill Clinton would beat George H.W. Bush.

“Attorney heading up Trump campaign's Wisconsin recount effort is seeking to throw out his own vote”  —  Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:

Biden to Name Longtime Aide Blinken as Secretary of State  — Jake Sullivan likely pick for national security adviser  — President-elect begins building government before concession  —  President-elect Joe Biden intends to name his longtime adviser Antony Blinken as secretary of State …

Trump team making false argument about his 2016 transition  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — It's not just President-elect Joe Biden's transition that's under a microscope.  —  President Donald Trump and his allies are harking back to his own transition four years ago to make a false argument …

Republicans plot to sink potential anti-Trump nominees including Vindman, Yates  —  Republicans are making plans to torpedo some of President-elect Biden's prospective Cabinet, agency and judicial nominees if the GOP keeps its majority, aides involved in the discussions tell me.

Utah hospitals have begun informal rationing of care, doctors say, as they cope with surge of COVID-19 patients  —  Editor's note: The Salt Lake Tribune is providing free access to critical stories about the coronavirus.  Sign up for our Top Stories newsletter, sent to your inbox every weekday morning.

Trump Exits Open Skies Treaty, Moves to Discard Observation Planes  —  Without specialized aircraft and equipment, Biden administration would have difficult time re-entering post-Cold War pact  —  The Trump administration formally shut the door on the Open Skies treaty Sunday …

How Trump Hopes to Use Party Machinery to Retain Control of the G.O.P.  —  Ronna McDaniel, a close ally of President Trump, wants to remain head of the Republican National Committee, worrying party members who believe the president will try to use the group to keep control of the G.O.P.

POLITICO Playbook: Republicans serve Trump a heap of reality  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  HAPPY SUNDAY.  BREAKING: Incoming W.H. COS RON KLAIN on ABC's “THIS WEEK”: JOE BIDEN will announce his first Cabinet picks — plural — Tuesday.  BIDEN transition officials tell us Treasury could be one — Bloomberg's JEN EPSTEIN said the same.

Murkowski calls on Trump to begin transition process, decries ‘pressure campaign on state legislators’  —  GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) called on President Trump begin the transition process to a Joe Biden administration and decried what she called a “pressure campaign” …

Beijing-Controlled News Outlet Paid US Newspapers Millions To Publish Propaganda This Year  —  An English-language newspaper controlled by the Chinese Communist Party's propaganda department paid U.S. media companies nearly $2 million for printing and advertising expenses over the past six months …

Biden Team, Pushing Quick Stimulus Deal, Prepares for Renewed Recession  —  Economists warn that lawmakers must pass aid now, as a renewed coronavirus surge chills consumer spending and business activity.  —  WASHINGTON — Advisers to President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. are planning …

The disinformation system that Trump unleashed will outlast him.  Here's what reality-based journalists must do about it.  —  President Trump didn't create the media cesspool that he'll bequeath to a troubled nation.  He just made it exponentially worse — not only with his own constant lies …

Key GOP Michigan canvassing board member expected to vote against certifying results  —  (CNN)A key Republican on the Michigan canvassing board is expected to vote against certifying the state's election results on Monday, a potential boon for the Trump campaign's conspiracy theory-fueled effort to delay the finalization of results.

Inside Republicans' troubled Election Day operations  —  As President Trump unsuccessfully argues fraudulent voter claims, campaign operatives tell Axios the reality is the joint EDO (Election Day operations) by the Trump campaign and Republican National Committee left them feeling largely unprepared to challenge ballots in real time.

We Need to Calm Down  —  Let's talk about transition anxiety.  —  Transition anxiety is a thing.  Last week, I received several emails from readers asking me if I was worried about a coup.  I told everyone that I'm not worried about a coup and that Joe Biden will be inaugurated on January 20, but I understand the anxiety.

Trump, GOP's ridiculous, flailing coup isn't a joke.  It's a crime.  There must be consequences  —  OK, so you haven't seen so many slam dunks since the USA “Dream Team” won the 1992 Olympics, as Team Trump's ace legal department actually embraces My Cousin Vinny while racking …

Biden and his team are lowering expectations for their management of the pandemic  —  It's lucky for President-elect Joe Biden and team that no one in the national media has any critical questions for them because it's painfully obvious otherwise that they have no sure plan to beat back the coronavirus and quickly restore the economy.

Longtime diplomat says Trump conspiracies hurt U.S. more than Russia, China  —  A longtime diplomat and Joe Biden adviser tells Axios that the United States has lost international credibility as President Trump spreads conspiracies while challenging his losing election results.

A noisy president goes (relatively) quiet in wake of election defeat  —  The Debrief: An occasional series offering a reporter's insights  —  The president who likes to put on a show is mostly offstage these days.  —  Since President Trump was declared the election's loser earlier this month …

‘A huge catastrophe’: Democrats grapple with congressional and state election losses  —  But President-Elect Joe Biden's victory ended up looking more like the horror movie Alien, with the last bedraggled survivor kicking the monster out the airlock and then drifting off to an uncertain fate in deep dark space.