The ‘Red Slime’ Lawsuit That Could Sink Right-Wing Media  —  Voting machine companies threaten “highly dangerous” cases against Fox, Newsmax and OAN, says Floyd Abrams.  —  Antonio Mugica was in Boca Raton when an American presidential election really melted down in 2000 …

White House secures ‘three martini lunch’ tax deduction in draft of coronavirus relief package  —  President Trump has long seized on the tax break as a way to revive the restaurant industry.  But economists have panned it as ineffective and largely benefitting the wealthy.

The Journalist and the Pharma Bro  —  Why did Christie Smythe upend her life and stability for Martin Shkreli, one of the least-liked men in the world?  —  Almost every weekday for six years, Christie Smythe took the F train from Park Slope downtown to her desk at Brooklyn's federal court …

“If it Hadn't Been for the Prompt Work of the Medics”: FSB Officer Inadvertently Confesses Murder Plot to Navalny  — Bellingcat and its partners reported that Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) was implicated in the near-fatal nerve-agent poisoning of Alexey Navalny on 20 August 2020.

'I'm Haunted by What I Did' as a Lawyer in the Trump Justice Department  —  No matter our intentions, lawyers like me were complicit.  We owe the country our honesty about what we saw — and should do in the future.  —  Ms. Newland worked in the Office of Legal Counsel at the Justice Department from 2016-18.

Trump campaign takes fight over Penn. election, ballot laws to Supreme Court  —  President Trump still refuses to concede the outcome and continues to promote allegations that there was massive voter fraud.  —  Trump still rips ‘stolen’ election  —  President Trump's campaign team …

Congress Strikes Long-Sought Stimulus Deal to Provide $900 Billion in Aid  —  Democrats and Republicans said they had an agreement on another round of pandemic aid, including direct payments to Americans, jobless benefits and funds for businesses and vaccine distribution.

Trump plots martial law from White House — the press shrugs  —  The Normalizing Olympics … In a West Wing meeting that would seem more fitting for a nation with a long history of authoritarian rule, Trump recently met with deranged, conspiracy-peddling advisers and discussed the possibility …

Canada halts passenger flights from UK for 72 hours due to new virus strain  —  TORONTO (Reuters) -Canada is halting passenger flights from the United Kingdom for 72 hours, the health ministry said on Sunday, joining a growing list of countries barring British travelers to prevent the spread of a new coronavirus strain from the country.

‘A real mess’: Trump is leaving behind crises and undermining Biden before he takes office  —  When President-elect Joe Biden is sworn into office on Jan. 20, the list of crises he will face includes a massive cyber intrusion, a still-raging global pandemic, a slowing economic recovery …

Ex-cop hits truck thinking it held 750,000 fraudulent ballots, police say.  It held air conditioning parts.  —  David Lopez-Zuniga, an air-conditioner installer, had just left his mobile home for his typical predawn commute when he noticed an SUV's headlights closely trailing his small cargo truck.

Virginia Removes Confederate Statue from U.S. Capitol  —  Commission recently selected civil rights icon Barbara Johns to represent the Commonwealth with new statue  —  WASHINGTON, D.C.—Governor Ralph Northam today announced that Virginia's statue of Confederate general Robert E. Lee …

Trump Incentives for Signing Peace Accords With Israel Could Be at Risk  —  Diplomatic sweeteners for joining the Abraham Accords that were offered to Morocco, Sudan and the United Arab Emirates could be rejected by Congress or reversed by the incoming Biden administration.

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 frustrated Trump redoubles efforts to challenge election result  —  President Trump has intensified efforts to overturn the election, raising a series of radical measures in recent days, including military intervention, seizing voting machines and a 13th-hour appeal to the Supreme Court.

Pelosi, Schumer Joint Statement on Coronavirus Relief & Omnibus Agreement  —  Washington, D.C. — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) issued the following statement after reaching agreement on coronavirus relief and omnibus package:

‘An emergency’ like 'we've never seen': Inside Biden's Cabinet confirmation drive  —  It was April of 2009 when then-Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius received a phone call from the Obama White House.  A plane was on its way to bring her to Washington to be sworn in as the Health and Human Services secretary.

How voters rank Trump a historically bad president  —  (CNN)Poll of the week: A new Fox News poll finds that 42% of voters say history will remember President Donald Trump as one of the worst presidents ever.  —  An additional 8% say he will be remembered as below average …