'It's turned crazy': Inside the scramble for Trump pardons  —  Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump may not be willing to accept his term is ending, but as the clock ticks down on his time in office, hundreds of his allies — including some of his closest business associates …

‘We want them infected’: Trump appointee demanded ‘herd immunity’ strategy, emails reveal  —  A top Trump appointee repeatedly urged top health officials to adopt a “herd immunity” approach to Covid-19 and allow millions of Americans to be infected by the virus, according to internal emails obtained …

Biden expected to get coronavirus vaccination early next week  —  (CNN)President-elect Joe Biden is expected to get his first Covid-19 vaccination early next week, CNN has learned, and plans to get his shot in public.  —  “I don't want to get ahead of the line, but I want to make sure …

Texas Wedding Photographers Have Seen Some $#!  +  —  They know what you did this summer.  —  NOTES  —  The wedding photographer had already spent an hour or two inside with the unmasked wedding party when one of the bridesmaids approached her.  The woman thanked her for still showing up …

People Thought Covid-19 Was Relatively Harmless for Younger Adults.  They Were Wrong.  —  New research shows that July may have been the deadliest month for young adults in modern American history.  —  Dr. Faust is a doctor at Brigham and Women's Hospital Department of Emergency Medicine.

Dutch prosecutors say Trump's Twitter account was hacked by guessing his password: maga2020!  —  This is not a joke.  Trump's old Twitter password was “maga2020!”  —  The first rule of securing yourself on the internet is to ensure your password isn't easily guessable.

When diversity came to America's political leadership  —  President-elect Joe Biden on Wednesday nominated former South Bend, Ind., mayor Pete Buttigieg to serve as the head of the Transportation Department in his administration.  —  Normally, such an announcement would be at best rote or …

North Carolina GOP lawmaker urges Trump to suspend civil liberties to keep power: ‘Invoke the Insurrection Act’  —  On Facebook, North Carolina state Sen. Bob Steinburg (R) paraphrased a conservative commentator to make a radical suggestion: President Trump should declare a national emergency …

Scoop: Vice President Pence to receive televised vaccine shot  —  Vice President Mike Pence plans to receive his coronavirus vaccine shot on camera Friday morning at the White House to build “vaccine confidence” among the American people, according to an administration official with direct knowledge of the plans.

Jill Biden's Doctorate Is Garbage Because Her Dissertation Is Garbage  —  Her dissertation is not an addition to the sum total of human knowledge.  —  You can tell someone is smarting from an inferiority complex when he insists on being addressed as “Dr.” on the basis of holding an academic doctorate rather than being a physician.

Biden order to halt border wall project would save U.S. $2.6 billion, Pentagon estimates show  —  The U.S. government would save about $2.6 billion if President-elect Joe Biden halts construction on the border wall project on his first day in office, according to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimates reviewed by The Washington Post.

FDA says Pfizer vaccine vials hold extra doses, expanding supply  —  Pharmacists have found a way to squeeze extra doses out of vials of Pfizer's vaccine, potentially expanding the nation's scarce supply by up to 40 percent.  —  The Food and Drug Administration said late Wednesday …

Kenyan National Indicted for Conspiring to Hijack Aircraft on Behalf of the Al Qaeda-Affiliated Terrorist Organization Al Shabaab  —  Cholo Abdi Abdullah Obtained Pilot Training and Researched How to Hijack Aircraft in Order to Conduct a 9/11-Style Attack at the Direction of al Shabaab

How suspected Russian hackers outed their massive cyberattack  —  A cybersecurity firm says a suspicious log-in to its network prompted it to investigate what turned out to be a gaping security hole for the U.S. government and many large companies.  —  Foreign hackers who pulled off …

A mysterious gap in COVID-19 deaths appeared in Florida before the presidential election  —  An astonishing pattern has emerged in Florida's COVID death tally — one that suggests the state manipulated a backlog of unrecorded fatalities, presenting more favorable death counts in the days leading up to the 2020 presidential election.

The Most American Religion  —  Image above: The Oquirrh Mountain Temple sits about 20 miles south of Temple Square in Salt Lake City, where the Church is based.  —  This article was published online on December 16, 2020.  —  To meet with the prophet during a plague, certain protocols must be followed.

Fifty Years of Tax Cuts for Rich Didn't Trickle Down, Study Says  — Paper looks at fiscal policies in 18 countries over 50 years  — Governments shouldn't worry about taxes on rich, author says  —  Tax cuts for rich people breed inequality without providing much of a boon to anyone else …

AOC: Nancy Pelosi Needs to Go, but There's Nobody to Replace Her Yet … Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez believes the Democratic Party needs new leadership, telling The Intercept in an interview that it's time for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to go.

Pompeo cancels final holiday party after he comes into contact with coronavirus  —  Secretary of State Mike Pompeo canceled his final major holiday party of the year Wednesday after his exposure to a person who tested positive for the coronavirus forced him into quarantine, according to two officials familiar with the situation.

Value of Loeffler's Mansion Dropped $6M Overnight—and Nobody Can Explain Why  —  The estate went from a $10.5 million appraisal to $4.1 million, resulting in a much lower tax bill for the senator and her husband.  —  When Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) and her husband, Jeffrey Sprecher …

Senator Jon Tester on Democrats and Rural Voters: ‘Our Message Is Really, Really Flawed’  —  Mr. Tester, a Montana farmer, said in an interview that Democrats had failed to connect with much of the country: “You cannot have Chuck Schumer talking rural issues to rural people.”

State panel recommends Barbara Johns statue to replace Lee at U.S. Capitol  —  A state panel on Wednesday recommended that a statue of teenage civil rights heroine Barbara Rose Johns replace Virginia's Robert E. Lee statue at the U.S. Capitol.  —  The Commission For Historical Statues …

John O. Brennan on UFOs  —  I thought I would give this segment its own post, again here is the audio, video, and transcript of my Conversation with John O. Brennan, head of the CIA for four years under President Obama:  —  BRENNAN: I've seen some of those videos from Navy pilots …

Bob Iger, Jeffrey Katzenberg In the Mix for Biden Ambassadorship Roles  —  The Disney executive chairman is at the top of the president-elect's wish list for a diplomatic assignment with the DreamWorks and Quibi mogul also in the mix.  —  It appears that Bob Iger might have a future in public service after all.

Saudi prosecutor seeks maximum jail sentence for women's rights activist  —  Loujain al-Hathloul, one of kingdom's most prominent human rights campaigners, may face 20 years behind bars  —  The state prosecutor's office in Saudi Arabia is seeking the maximum possible jail sentence …

Congressional leaders add stimulus checks to $900 billion relief package as they near deal  —  New direct payments will likely be included, but leaders are scrapping aid to states and cities as well as liability protections for companies as they try to finish negotiations.

We're Never Going Back to the 1950s  —  Twenty years ago, the sociologist Robert Putnam in Bowling Alone used the decline of bowling leagues since the middle of the 20th century to symbolize America's declining social engagement.  This year, he published a sequel of sorts, The Upswing …

MLB Is Finally Recognizing the Negro Leagues as the Major Leagues They Always Were  —  Negro League statistics from 1920 to 1948 will now be officially classified as “major league,” marking a long-overdue acknowledgment of the accomplishments of players who didn't have the opportunity to play in the American or National Leagues