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 becomes California's first Latino U.S. senator, replacing Kamala Harris  —  Alex Padilla, a Los Angeles Democrat who once developed software for satellites but later rose through local and state political office to become California secretary of state, was chosen Tuesday …

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 …

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.

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.

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

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.

Misinformation Amplifiers Target Georgia Senate Races  —  The conservative social media personalities that spread baseless rumors of election fraud are starting to focus on the races that will decide control of the Senate.  —  Two weeks ago, the conservative media personalities Diamond …

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 …

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.

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.

Morocco to Israel: Normalization Pact Not Part of Trump-brokered Abraham Accords  —  Rabat says not interested in signing normalization deal with Israel, as was inked with the UAE and Bahrain, while Joint Israel-U.S. delegation lands in Morocco to advance ties

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 …

President Trump's Post-Election Conduct and ‘Threats’ Violated the Ku Klux Klan Act, Civil Rights Groups Allege  —  Outgoing President Donald Trump's post-election campaign of “intimidation and coercion of election officials and volunteers” targets Black voters in violation of the Ku Klux Klan Act …

Senate Republicans could restore a bit of civility by confirming Neera Tanden  —  On a wall somewhere, I have a historical artifact.  It's only two decades old, but it might as well be on papyrus in Aramaic.  It's the Senate tally sheet from Jan. 23, 2001, recording my unanimous confirmation …