It's Not Just Trump's War on Democracy Anymore  —  Republicans have gone far beyond merely humoring their losing leader.  —  The streets are still quiet in Washington, nine months into a pandemic that is reaching yet another deadly peak.  Most of the offices remain closed …

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Are TIME's 2020 Person of the Year  —  Together, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris offered restoration and renewal in a single ticket.  And America bought what they were selling

Barr Worked to Keep Hunter Biden Probes from Public View During Election  —  The attorney general knew for months about investigations into Biden's business and financial dealings  —  Attorney General William Barr has known about a disparate set of investigations involving Hunter Biden's business …

Trump Administration Executes Brandon Bernard After Jurors Plead For His Life  —  Bernard was an accomplice to a crime at age 18.  He is the ninth person to be executed as part of the Trump administration's end-of-office killing spree.  —  The Trump administration executed 40-year-old Brandon Bernard …

Pelosi looks to lock down speaker's vote in shadow of coronavirus  —  The longtime Democratic leader faces tight margins, and Covid could complicate her math.  —  House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's thinner majority will require a near-perfect showing from rank-and-file Democrats to again lock down the speakership.

Covid-19 caused the sudden death of a top state lawmaker in New Hampshire.  —  The New Hampshire State Legislature was already fiercely divided over the coronavirus when the new Republican speaker of the House of Representatives, Richard Hinch, died suddenly on Wednesday.

Biden is picking a Cabinet built for comfort.  What he needs is vision.  —  The “comfort-level” Cabinet that President-elect Joe Biden is assembling has some obvious benefits, especially after four years of the petulance and backbiting that turned the White House into what one Trump chief of staff reportedly called “Crazytown.”

Biden is not the coronavirus messiah  —  With the help of his media allies, President-elect Joe Biden is trying to present himself as a messiah figure who will be able to lead America out of the darkest days of the pandemic within his first 100 days in office.

F.D.A. Advisory Panel Gives Green Light to Pfizer Vaccine  —  The blessing of these experts means that the agency will OK the vaccine's use, paving the way for health care workers to begin getting shots next week.  —  Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine passed a critical milestone on Thursday …

‘It Is Roiling Him’: Reporter Maggie Haberman Unpacks Trump's Refusal To Admit He Lost  —  With only a few weeks until President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration, President Trump still won't admit defeat.  White House correspondent Maggie Haberman, who has reported on Trump over the past 20 years, sheds light on his refusal to concede.

Utah Sen. Mike Lee blocks votes to establish Smithsonian museums for Latinos and women  —  Washington (CNN)Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah on Thursday blocked consideration for legislation to establish a National Museum of the American Latino and an American Women's History Museum as part …

Biden's visit to Georgia next week highlights ‘sea change’ in Democratic strategy  —  President-elect Joe Biden's plan to visit Georgia next week to campaign for Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock is a sharp reminder of a seismic shift in the state's Democratic politics.

China Authorities Detain Bloomberg News Beijing Staff Member  —  Chinese authorities have detained Haze Fan, who works for the Bloomberg News bureau in Beijing, on suspicion of endangering national security.  —  Fan was last in contact with one of her editors around 11:30 a.m. local time on Monday.

Secession?  Rush Limbaugh floats a startling notion — then quickly backs off.  —  Rush Limbaugh isn't saying he wants the country to split into red and blue factions as a result of conservative fury over the election results.  As he attempted to make clear Thursday, he's just saying that other people are saying it.

The Conservative Idea That Would Let Biden Seize Control of Washington  —  Despite President Donald Trump's landslide defeat at the ballot box in November, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and his GOP caucus have embarked on a course to stack the federal administrative state with eleventh-hour appointees.

Obama III  —  Column: Biden courts disaster with retreads, culture warriors, and scandal … He has a funny way of showing it.  Biden's recent moves provide little comfort for Americans looking for a way out of the polarization, acrimony, catastrophism, and hysteria that have characterized politics lo these many years.

Pentagon Weighs Sharp Drawback in Support for C.I.A.  —  A broad review of the military's support for the agency is underway, including pulling back personnel and rethinking support for C.I.A. operations around the world.  —  WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is considering whether …

Rep. Dan Crenshaw Linked to Smear Campaign of Female Vet Led by VA Secretary, Watchdog Says  —  An investigation from the government watchdog that oversees the Department of Veterans Affairs concluded Thursday that a Republican member of Congress was involved in an orchestrated campaign by V …

Manhattan D.A. Intensifies Investigation of Trump  —  Prosecutors have recently interviewed employees of President Trump's lender and insurance brokerage, in the latest indication that he still faces the potential threat of criminal charges once he leaves office.

Californians Are Fed Up With Newsom's Draconian Shutdowns  —  Golden Staters lose patience with the governor's tin-pot tyranny.  —  California Gov. Gavin Newsom (Gage Skidmore/Wikimedia Commons)  —  Welcome to California, where our dictator has movie star hair, a dayglo smile, and an impeccably progressive resume.

Pentagon pick may need GOP rescue  —  Lloyd Austin will begin courtesy calls with Congress next week, but his nomination to be Defense secretary may not even make it out of committee unless Republicans help grant the waiver he needs to hold the job, people familiar with the matter say.