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, Calif. — Alex Padilla …

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

Iowa Democrat asks House to review 6-vote race, cites errors  —  Democrat Rita Hart is asking the U.S. House to investigate and overturn the race that Iowa says she lost by six votes, arguing that 22 ballots were wrongly excluded and others weren't examined during the recount.

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.

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 …

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.

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 Military Would Not Participate in a Coup.  Trump Can't Understand Why.  —  Politicians from both parties have called on the armed forces to enforce election outcomes.  The generals know better.  —  The president of the United States considered using the military to overturn an election, according to press reports.

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.

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.

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 …

Harry Reid made Nevada a presidential battleground.  Now he wants more  —  When Harry Reid met Joe Biden it was 1987.  Reid was new to the Senate and had a favor to ask the Judiciary Committee chairman.  —  “There was a Nevada person that had been nominated to be a federal judge …

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 …

Senior Trump advisers prepare to launch policy group  —  Senior advisers to President Donald Trump are preparing to launch a nonprofit group to promote the president's policies once he leaves office, creating a landing spot for former Trump officials after the White House changes hands.

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 …

Trump supporters asked me to look into voter fraud in Nevada; what I found debunked what they were alleging  —  Clark County Election Department personnel process mail in ballots on Friday, Oct. 30, 2020.  (Jeff Scheid/The Nevada Independent)  —  Regardless of your political party …

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 …

Court Extends Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Term, as Inauguration Nears  —  A quirk of legal timing had left Audrey Strauss's tenure as acting head of the Southern District of New York set to expire just before the end of the Trump administration.  —  Six months ago, Audrey Strauss became …

South Dakota's coronavirus surge is turning nursing homes into a ‘battle zone’  —  The state has lost a greater share of its nursing home residents to COVID-19 than any other state this fall.  —  On October 9, an employee in the business office at Tieszen Memorial Home in Marion, South Dakota, tested positive for the coronavirus.