Trump turns on Pence, McConnell and White House counsel Cipollone in desperate final days  —  President Trump, in his final days, is turning bitterly on virtually every person around him, griping about anyone who refuses to indulge conspiracy theories or hopeless bids to overturn the election, several top officials tell Axios.

WH virus coordinator Deborah Birx says she will retire  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House coronavirus response, said Tuesday she plans to retire, but is willing to first help President-elect Joe Biden's team with its coronavirus response as needed.

Alex Padilla Will Replace Kamala Harris in the Senate  —  Gov. Gavin Newsom of California selected Mr. Padilla to serve the final two years of Ms. Harris's term.  Mr. Padilla will be the first Latino senator to represent the state.  —  SACRAMENTO — Alex Padilla, California's secretary of state …

Trump nominates Hope Hicks, Ric Grenell to government posts  —  President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced plans to appoint another slate of top allies to various government boards, yet another sign that his time in office is winding to a close.  —  The president named Hope Hicks to be a member …

Texas AG Ken Paxton urged White House to revoke Harris County COVID relief  —  FILE- In this Sept. 10, 2020, file photo, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at the Austin Police Association in Austin, Texas.  Paxton on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2020, announced a multi-state lawsuit against Google …

Trump's Longtime Banker at Deutsche Bank Resigns  —  Rosemary Vrablic, who oversaw hundreds of millions of dollars in loans to President Trump's company, will leave the bank next week.  —  President Trump's longtime banker at Deutsche Bank, who arranged for the German lender to make hundreds …

US deaths in 2020 top 3 million, by far most ever counted  —  NEW YORK (AP) — This is the deadliest year in U.S. history, with deaths expected to top 3 million for the first time — due mainly to the coronavirus pandemic.  —  Final mortality data for this year will not be available for months.

Washington Football Team settled sexual misconduct claim against Daniel Snyder for $1.6 million  —  The Washington Football Team paid a female former employee $1.6 million as part of a confidential settlement in 2009, according to a copy of the agreement reviewed by The Washington Post.

Substack's view of content moderation  —  Building a system that puts readers and writers in charge  —  As Substack grows, there is increasing interest in the stance we take on content moderation.  It's a complicated issue, so we wanted to take a moment to lay out our position clearly and explain how we got there.

Former Rep. Katie Hill sues ex-husband, Daily Mail, Redstate.com over ‘nonconsensual porn’  —  LOS ANGELES — Former congresswoman Katie Hill filed suit in Los Angeles Tuesday against her ex-husband and the owners of Redstate.com and the Daily Mail, saying they had distributed what amounted to …

Judge Says Lin Wood's Post-Election Lawsuits May Have Violated Several Professional Rules, Orders Him to Respond  —  Attorney Lin Wood's lawsuits aimed to topple the 2020 election may have violated Delaware's rules of professional conduct, preventing him from representing President Donald …

Who Did J.K. Rowling Become?  Deciphering the most beloved, most reviled children's-book author in history.  —  Edinburgh Castle, many centuries old, has been called the most besieged place in Britain.  In 2005, on the night Melissa Anelli arrived, it was besieged primarily by children.

NRCC Blasts Lamb For Proxy Vote Shortly After Baby Announcement  —  It's the holiday season, but the National Republican Congressional Committee isn't exactly in a charitable mood.  —  The NRCC sent out an email Monday morning criticizing Rep. Conor Lamb (D-Allegheny) for voting by proxy on Sunday.

Gov. Kristi Noem whips out flamethrower in Instagram photo  —  Spokesperson says the flamethrower is not hers  —  Fox News Flash top headlines for December 22  —  South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem generated some buzz on social media when she posted a photo of herself holding a flamethrower …

Retiring Texas Republican, Rep. Mac Thornberry, chides GOP for ‘mindless sort of obedience’ to Trump  —  The top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee said Congress ‘was created to be and meant to be a separate independent branch of government.’  —  WASHINGTON — Clarendon …

The Left's Most Naïve Cynics Have Turned on AOC  —  Jimmy Dore is undeniably good at swearing.  A left-wing comedian turned pundit, Dore has earned himself a considerable YouTube following by giving expletive-laden expression to the rage that many American progressives feel when contemplating …

Several Trump immigration restrictions will remain in place, Biden advisers say, urging patience  —  Top advisers to president-elect Joe Biden said Monday they will not immediately roll back asylum restrictions at the Mexico border and other restrictive Trump administration policies …

The tangled webs of Christopher Krebs and Russia's cyberattack  —  Have you ever made a boastful statement and then been undercut by harsh reality?  “My kid has never been in trouble in school because we raised him right!”  The next day, little Johnny sets a fire in the boys' bathroom.

SC Gov. Henry McMaster tests positive for COVID-19, will undergo antibody treatment  —  COLUMBIA — Gov. Henry McMaster tested positive for COVID-19 and will undergo an antibody treatment, his office announced Tuesday.  —  The 73-year-old Republican governor is experiencing mild symptoms, including coughing and fatigue.

How Cities Lost Control of Police Discipline  —  In the chaos of 1960s Detroit, a fledgling police union laid the groundwork for a system that, to this day, constrains discipline for officers accused of misconduct.  —  It took Portland, Ore., almost $1 million in legal fees …

Pulse Oximeter Devices Have Higher Error Rate in Black Patients  —  A study showed that the devices, which measure oxygen levels in the blood, were three times more likely to give misleading readings in people with dark skin.  —  Pulse oximeters are one of the most commonly used tools in medicine.

Biden aides weighing boosting vaccine production with Defense Production Act  —  WASHINGTON — President-elect Joe Biden's coronavirus advisory team consulted scientists and supply chain experts about whether he should invoke a wartime production law to help produce and administer more Covid-19 vaccines …