Scoop: Pentagon halts Biden transition briefings  —  Acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller ordered a Pentagon-wide halt to cooperation with the transition of President-elect Biden, shocking officials across the Defense Department, senior administration officials tell Axios.

‘New York Times’ Retracts Core Of Hit Podcast Series ‘Caliphate’ On ISIS  —  Toggle more options  —  The New York Times has retracted the core of its hit 2018 podcast series Caliphate after an internal review found the paper failed to heed red flags indicating that the man it relied upon …

White House aides talked Trump out of last-minute demand for stimulus checks as big as $2,000  —  Chaotic chain of events at White House illustrates why stimulus bill remains in flux  —  White House aides intervened Thursday to prevent President Trump from issuing a statement calling …

An outraged Kemp blasts pro-Trump conspiracy theorists harassing his family  —  Gov. Brian Kemp is fed up with the unrelenting attacks from conspiracy theorists calling on him to overturn President-elect Joe Biden's victory in Georgia.  But he's even more enraged that some of those peddlers …

A moment of reckoning: the need for a strong and global cybersecurity response  —  The final weeks of a challenging year have proven even more difficult with the recent exposure of the world's latest serious nation-state cyberattack.  This latest cyber-assault is effectively an attack …

Trump fights for a job that he's not doing as coronavirus rages  —  (CNN)When the history of the pandemic is written, one of the great mysteries will be what President Donald Trump was doing in the waning days of his presidency as the number of Covid-19 deaths in the US soared past 3,000 each day …

Trump expected to issue wave of pre-Christmas pardons today  —  President Trump plans to issue a wave of pardons today, moving to expedite acts of clemency before Christmas, according to a source with direct knowledge and advocates who have been briefed on the plans.

MAGA leaders call for the troops to keep Trump in office  —  An 1807 law invoked only in the most violent circumstances is now a rallying cry for the MAGA-ites most committed to the fantasy that Donald Trump will never leave office.  —  The law, the Insurrection Act, allows the president …

Trump's New Brand Is Loser  —  His post-election tantrum is forcing conservatives to affirm, again and again, that he lost the election fair and square.  —  In the six weeks since the Presidential election, various theories—many of them persuasive—have been advanced to explain President Trump's refusal to accept Joe Biden's victory.

Rupert Murdoch receives dose of Covid vaccine in UK  —  Exclusive: 89-year-old News Corp boss gives thanks to key workers, NHS staff and scientists  —  Rupert Murdoch has become the latest public figure to have the coronavirus vaccine, visiting his local GP's surgery late on Wednesday to receive his first dose.

The Top 10 Worst Trump-Enabling Takes of 2020  —  As we bid a not-so-fond farewell to 2020, here's a look back at some of the political lowlights.  —  As we close out the year, it's tempting but futile to compile a list of President Trump's worst lies.  But reprinting all of his tweets …

Kelly Loeffler Keeps Posing For Photos With White Supremacists And Other Extremists  —  The senator recently disavowed a photo of her with a former KKK leader, but she's repeatedly aligned herself with racists and far-right supporters.  —  Earlier this week a photo of Georgia GOP …

Teachers are sacrificing student privacy to stop cheating  —  Surveillance software for remote learning is drawing criticism from privacy advocates and lawmakers.  —  As the fall semester began at the University of Nevada, Reno, psychology professor Mark Lescroart faced an increasingly common dilemma …

O Rahm, where art thou?  —  Welcome to POLITICO's 2020 Transition Playbook, your guide to one of the most consequential transfers of power in American history.  —  RAHM EMANUEL had never lost a political campaign.  Until this week.  —  Over the past few weeks, the former Chicago mayor …

ICU availability in Southern California at 0%, and it's going to get worse, officials warn  —  The availability of intensive care unit beds throughout Southern California reached critical mass Thursday with 0% open, and officials warned that conditions in hospitals are expected to erode further COVID-19 continues to spread unchecked.

SCOTUS punts on challenge to Trump bid to block undocumented immigrants from apportionment  —  The Supreme Court on Friday threw out a lawsuit against the Trump administration's plans to exclude undocumented immigrants from the population base used for congressional seat apportionment, calling the challenge “premature.”

The Washington Post asked readers to describe 2020 in one word or phrase.  Here's what they said.  —  See their responses  —  Shefali S. Kulkarni and By Shefali S. Kulkarni  —  Operations editor for the financial and tech section  —  Community editor, with a focus on comments, live chats and reader submissions.

An Unprepared N.Y.P.D. Badly Mishandled Floyd Protests, Watchdog Says  —  “I look back with remorse,” Mayor Bill de Blasio said after a city oversight agency found the department's tactics “produced excessive enforcement.”  —  A city oversight agency on Friday sharply criticized …

The Morning Briefing: If Lockdowns Work Why Is California a Global COVID-19 Hotspot?  —  The Mother of All Lockdown Failures  —  Happy week before Christmas Friday, dear Kruiser Morning Briefing friends.  My favorite vegetarian food is beef brisket.  —  Whilst wrapping up my evening walk …

Trump's recognition of Western Sahara is a serious blow to diplomacy and international law  —  James Baker served as the 61st U.S. secretary of state from 1989 to 1992 and as the U.N. secretary-general's personal envoy for Western Sahara from 1997 to 2004.  —  President Trump's recent …

Kathleen Rice beats out AOC for spot on coveted House committee  —  Rep. Kathleen Rice has captured a prized seat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee after a contentious showdown with fellow New Yorker, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.  —  Rice and Ocasio-Cortez have been battling behind …

Mark Shields and the Best of American Liberalism  —  The man who loves politics.  —  Every Friday evening for the last 19 years, Mark Shields and I have gathered to talk politics on the “PBS NewsHour.”  When people come up to me to discuss our segment, sometimes they mention the things …

Former Epstein associate Jean-Luc Brunel's arrest in Paris brings “tears of joy” for alleged victims  —  Paris — A French former model agent accused of procuring underage girls for the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein was detained by French police Wednesday …

Progressives line up their own national security recruits for Biden  —  In a forceful effort to shape a more progressive foreign policy, a coalition of left-leaning and other groups on Friday will deliver a detailed roster of 100 candidates they recommend for senior posts in the Biden administration …

Joe Biden Wears a ‘Kick Me’ Sign  —  President-elect Joe Biden went on a rampage early this morning, lashing out at critics within his own party who say his appointments so far lack ideological and demographic diversity and hinting that lawmakers who cross him can expect retribution once he moves into the White House on Jan. 20.

Not the FBI I remember: William Barnett's troubling interview  —  So, where is John Durham and what has become of his investigation into the origins of the Trump-Russia probe?  After serving nearly 28 years in the FBI, I'd like to know just how bad things are for the FBI — or not.

Misinformation fatigue sets in  —  “Misinformation isn't going away, but it seems inevitable that people will stop caring.”  —  I expect 2021 will be the year misinformation fatigue sets in — a condition from which I will undeniably suffer and for which I will be partly to blame.

Iran builds at underground nuclear facility amid US tensions  —  DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran has begun construction on a site at its underground nuclear facility at Fordo amid tensions with the U.S. over its atomic program, according to satellite photos obtained by The Associated Press on Friday.

This California Representative Survived Jonestown and Says Trumpers Have Definitely Drunk the Kool Aid  —  A few years ago, Jackie Speier resisted comparisons between Jim Jones and Donald Trump.  But now, she sees them clearly.  —  BEAST INSIDE … Jackie Speier was a legislative counsel working …