Birx travels, family visits highlight pandemic safety perils  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — As COVID-19 cases skyrocketed before the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House coronavirus response, warned Americans to “be vigilant” and limit celebrations to “your immediate household.”

A President Who Can't Put Aside Grudges, Even for Good News  —  The past week served as a preview of Mr. Trump's post-presidency: no leadership on debates within his party, but keen attention to waging personal vendettas and cultivating his supporters.  —  It was among the most consequential weeks …

The Coronavirus Is Mutating.  What Does That Mean for Us?  —  Officials in Britain and South Africa claim new variants are more easily transmitted.  There's a lot more to the story, scientists say.  —  Just as vaccines begin to offer hope for a path out of the pandemic …

Top Trump aides pushed back on Sidney Powell during a chaotic West Wing meeting  —  There were “raised voice levels and animated conversation” during a chaotic Friday night meeting with President Trump in the Oval Office, a source familiar with the meeting tells Axios.

McConnell expects coronavirus relief package to be finalized ‘in a matter of hours’  —  Government funding runs out Sunday night  —  Fox News Flash top headlines for December 20  —  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he expects lawmakers to have a final agreement …

Details emerge on $600 stimulus checks, jobless benefits as Congress rushes to finalize deal  —  House leadership tells lawmakers to prepare to be ready to vote as early as Sunday, but there are still details that need to be worked out, according to people familiar with the conversations.

Poll finds that Americans accept Joe Biden's win in the 2020 election — except for the Fox News viewers  —  The network has avidly promoted debunked allegations and conspiracy theories about the election result  —  A new Daily Kos/Civiqs poll confirms that a large majority of Americans accept …

Biden chief of staff says hack response will go beyond ‘just sanctions’  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The incoming White House chief of staff said on Sunday that President-elect Joe Biden's response to the massive hacking campaign uncovered last week would go beyond sanctions.

Why Do They Hate Us?  —  Race, Christian Nationalism, and White Evangelical Alienation from America  —  If there is any good to come from last weekend's Christian-nationalist “Jericho March,” and other bizarre, angry, and sometimes-violent right-wing attacks on the 2020 presidential election …

As end approaches, Trump gets doses of flattery, finality  —  NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump's administration is ending how it began, with over-the-top declarations of praise for the chief executive.  —  But now the flattery is mixed with a sense of finality as key people …

Scoop: Trump likely won't announce 2024 run before Jan. 20  —  President Trump's closest confidants no longer expect him to imminently announce he's running in 2024, three sources who've recently discussed the matter with the president tell Axios.  —  Driving the news: Trump doesn't want to announce …

Major U.S. companies are lobbying in a scrum for early vaccine  —  Danger of haves and have-nots looms as states decide how to dole out limited supply  —  Companies across America — from Amazon and Uber to railroads and meatpacking plants — are lobbying states and the federal government …

Jack Ma Makes Ant Offer to Placate Chinese Regulators  —  Trying to salvage his relationship with regulators in a Nov. 2 meeting, the Chinese billionaire said he was ready to do what the country needed  —  As Jack Ma was trying to salvage his relationship with Beijing in early November …

Uproar at NYC's posh Dalton School after faculty issues 8-page anti-racism manifesto  —  One of NYC's poshest private schools is in an uproar over an anti-racist manifesto signed by dozens of faculty members with a sweeping list of demands.  —  The Dalton School — which boasts stars Anderson Cooper …

GOP winning the Georgia ad war as Dems shift money to ground game  —  Democrats are getting out-advertised in the Georgia Senate runoffs thanks to a megadonor-funded blitz from GOP super PACs in the races that will decide control of the Senate.  —  Republicans hold an overall advertising advantage across …

What happened to the Colorado Republican Party?  —  Out of power in a changing state, the GOP is in soul-searching mode  —  The Jefferson County GOP began its annual assemblies in the 1990s by asking all elected Republicans in attendance to say a few words.

Overdose deaths far outpace COVID-19 deaths in San Francisco  —  SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A record 621 people died of drug overdoses in San Francisco so far this year, a staggering number that far outpaces the 173 deaths from COVID-19 the city has seen thus far.