MAGA turns on Mitch: Trump allies including Michael Flynn slam the GOP Senate majority leader for ‘caving to the mob and China’ for recognizing Biden as president-elect  — Trump loyalists were furious after McConnell congratulated Biden on Tuesday  — Top allies accused Senate majority leader of selling out the party's leader

White House counsel's office warned Trump not to fire Chris Wray  —  WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has come so close to firing FBI Director Christopher Wray in recent months that the White House counsel's office has warned him not to do so because it could put him in potential legal jeopardy …

Alleged crusade to stop voter fraud lands former HPD captain in handcuffs  —  HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A former Houston Police Department Captain was arrested and charged for running a man off the road and pointing a gun at his head in an attempt to prove claims of a massive voter fraud scheme …

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.

MacKenzie Scott Gives Away $4.2 Billion in Four Months  — World's 18th-richest person announced contributions on Medium  — Scott's total gifts this year are close to $6 billion  —  MacKenzie Scott is giving away her fortune at an unprecedented pace, donating more than $4 billion …

DeVos urges career staff to ‘be the resistance’ as Biden takes over  —  Education Secretary Betsy DeVos urged career employees at the Education Department on Tuesday to “be the resistance” when the Biden administration comes into power next month, according to a recording of her remarks obtained by POLITICO.

Mayor Warshaw resigns effective immediately  —  On Tuesday, Dec. 15, Dodge City Mayor Joyce Warshaw officially resigned from her position effective immediately.  —  “I understand people are under a lot of pressure from various things that are happening around society like the pandemic …

Hundreds of invitees skip Mike Pompeo's indoor holiday party at State Department  —  Only a tiny fraction of the more than 900 guests invited to an indoor holiday party hosted by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his wife Susan showed up on Tuesday following an outcry from public health officials …

Mar-a-Lago neighbors to Trump: Spend your post-presidency elsewhere  —  Next-door neighbors of Mar-a-Lago, President Trump's private club in Palm Beach, Fla., that he has called his Winter White House, have a message for the outgoing commander in chief: We don't want you to be our neighbor.

‘Like a Hand Grasping’: Trump Appointees Describe the Crushing of the C.D.C.  —  Kyle McGowan, a former chief of staff at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and his deputy, Amanda Campbell, go public on the Trump administration's manipulation of the agency.

UM Fires History Professor Who Criticizes ‘Powerful, Racist Donors’ and ‘Carceral State’  —  During a period of what University of Mississippi faculty are calling a time of increasing paranoia, the university is set to terminate a celebrated professor of history.

Longtime GOP strategist Steve Schmidt announces he's registering Democrat  —  Longtime GOP strategist Steve Schmidt announced that he is registering as a Democrat after nearly 30 years with the Republican Party.  —  Schmidt made the announcement during an episode of the “Battleground” …

Framed and Guilty … Hunter Biden, son of the man who will be America's 46th president, tried to profit from his father's name abroad—as we learned anew from some of the contents of a computer hard drive that were leaked in the weeks before the election.  What is also true is that the tale …

Giving Trump credit for the vaccine is the best way for Biden to unite the country  —  Joe Biden promised in his victory speech to “unite us here at home” and told Trump supporters that he wanted to “put away the harsh rhetoric, lower the temperature [and] see each other again.”

Biden considering Republicans for Commerce secretary  —  President-elect Joe Biden is considering some well-known Republicans — think Meg Whitman types — for Commerce secretary as a way to signal to red-state Americans he understands their concerns and plans to address them.

Restaurants worry bipartisan coronavirus deal is cutting them out  —  The White House and congressional leaders are nearing the finish line on a bipartisan Covid-19 relief deal.  But they're running up against objections from a coalition of restaurants who argue the emerging plan will leave …

17 theses on Pete Buttigieg and the Department of Transportation  —  Emergency blog post!  —  3 hr ago  —  Trying something new, an emergency out-of-schedule post on Pete Buttigieg and the Department of Transportation!  — I love transportation policy and know a fair amount about it.

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 …

Bill Barr and Other Hacks  —  We are halfway through the attempted coup - formerly known as the presidential transition process - and the United States has not completely collapsed (yet) so, yay?  This week we discuss the massive Russian cyberattack on American institutions and businesses …

How 2020 Shattered Shared Reality  —  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 …

USPS Finally Releases Louis DeJoy's Calendar — And Everything's Redacted  —  The agency pretended to release the postmaster general's calendar in a lawsuit looking to get to the bottom of mail slowdowns ahead of the election.  —  After being hit with a lawsuit in federal court …

How Qanon's lies are hijacking the national conversation  —  How Trump is fueling the alarming growth of QAnon  —  (CNN)It started with a Tweet from a QAnon supporter at 2:09 in the morning: #SubpoenaObama.  —  Though devoid of context, the cryptic message made sense to anyone in tune …

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 …

A notable death in 2020: American democracy |  Will Bunch Newsletter  —  As I wrote this, I was watching the Electoral College coverage on CNN and I have to say the whole thing seemed suspicious as hell.  Every hour or so, there was another “mysterious” dump of 20 or 30 more votes for Biden.

Ron Johnson gambles his political future on Trump  —  President Donald Trump listens as Sen. Ron Johnson addresses the crowd during a campaign rally on Oct. 17, 2020, in Janesville, Wis.  —  Ron Johnson is linking himself to President Donald Trump's election challenge as tightly as possible …

Children Love Snow Days.  The Pandemic May End Them Forever.  —  In New York City and elsewhere, classes will be held online no matter how bad storms are this year in a shift that makes some parents wistful.  —  “Snow day.”  These two words have charmed New York children for generations …