Iran scientist's assassination appears intended to undermine nuclear deal  —  Analysis: shooting of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh will do more harm to diplomacy than it does to Iran's nuclear programme  —  The assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh may not much have impact on the Iranian nuclear programme …

Milwaukee County presidential recount wraps up with Biden adding to his margin over Trump  —  Milwaukee County's recount of the presidential election vote tally came to an end Friday, with Democratic President-elect Joe Biden adding 132 votes to his margin of victory over President Donald Trump in Milwaukee County.

In nine states, at least 1 in 1,000 people have died of coronavirus-linked causes  —  As daily covid-19 deaths climb to levels not seen since early in the pandemic, nine states have hit one more grim marker: more than 1 in every 1,000 people dead of coronavirus-related causes.

McKinsey Proposed Paying Pharmacy Companies Rebates for OxyContin Overdoses  —  Court filings reveal consultants' talk of a records purge during the opioid crisis, and shed new light on sales advice given to the billionaire Sackler family and their drug company, Purdue Pharma.

Federal appeals court panel rejects Trump request to block certification of Pennsylvania's election results  —  A federal appeals court panel on Friday rejected President Trump's request for an emergency injunction to overturn the certification of Pennsylvania's election results.

Trump moves to strip job protections from White House budget analysts as he races to transform civil service  —  The outgoing Trump administration is racing to enact the biggest change to the federal civil service in generations, reclassifying career employees at key agencies to strip …

Trump's Already Gaming Out a 2024 Run—Including an Event During Biden's Inauguration  —  He's not yet conceded 2020 but is already looking at keeping Republicans in line and making Biden's life miserable.  —  In the twilight of his presidency, Donald Trump is discussing different ways …

Pennsylvania Republican Lawmakers Introduce Resolution Disputing 2020 Election Results  —  HARRISBURG (KDKA) — Pennsylvania Republican lawmakers have introduced a resolution intending to dispute the 2020 election results on Friday.  —  The resolution intends to declare the 2020 election results as being …

🚨ALERT: NEW LAWSUIT IN GEORGIA  —  Latest Republican lawsuit challenging the 2020 election results has been filed in Georgia.

Covid Overload: U.S. Hospitals Are Running Out of Beds for Patients  —  As the coronavirus pandemic surges across the country, hospitals are facing a crisis-level shortage of beds and staff to provide adequate care for patients.  —  In excruciating pain with lesions on her face and scalp …

E.P.A.'s Final Deregulatory Rush Runs Into Open Staff Resistance  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump's Environmental Protection Agency was rushing to complete one of its last regulatory priorities, aiming to obstruct the creation of air- and water-pollution controls far into the future, when a senior career scientist moved to hobble it.

Republicans lob accusations of elitism at ‘Middle Class Joe’ — a sign of the upended politics of populism  —  President-elect Joe Biden, a state-college graduate who was once the poorest man in the U.S. Senate, is facing accusations of elitism from Republicans after defeating a billionaire incumbent …

What we should know about Biden's appointment of Kerry as climate czar  —  Of all the messes President-elect Joe Biden is tasked with cleaning up, the climate crisis is the most high stakes.  If aggressive decarbonization doesn't begin soon, climate scientists see little chance of preventing permanent ecological catastrophe.

Secret Meeting in Desert Between Israeli, Saudi Leaders Failed to Reach Normalization Agreement  —  Saudi crown prince backed away from U.S.-brokered deal to solidify bulwark against Iran  —  RIYADH, Saudi Arabia—When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flew into Saudi Arabia …

Mnuchin plans to move $455B in coronavirus relief out of Biden's reach  —  Moving the money into the General Fund would make it harder for Biden administration to access it  —  Pelosi, Mnuchin ‘getting closer’ on stimulus deal: Tyler Goodspeed  —  Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is expected …

Scoop: Biden weighs retired General Lloyd Austin for Pentagon chief  —  Joe Biden is considering retired four-star General Lloyd Austin as his nominee for defense secretary, adding him to a shortlist that includes Jeh Johnson, Tammy Duckworth and Michele Flournoy, two sources with direct knowledge of the decision-making tell Axios.

NY22: Democratic Incumbent Brindisi Reportedly Leads Challenger Tenney by Only 13 Votes  —  “[State Supreme Court] Judge [Scott] DelConte has already verbally ruled that ballots invalid that are in [Brindisi's] count.”  —  Incumbent Democrat Anthony Brindisi for New York's 22nd Congressional District leads …

Carter Page sues James Comey, Andrew McCabe, the FBI, and others for $75M  —  Carter Page sued fired FBI Director James Comey, fired FBI deputy director Andrew McCabe, the FBI, and others involved in the improper Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act snooping on the former Trump campaign associate …