Trump Pardons Two Russia Inquiry Figures and Blackwater Guards  —  The pre-Christmas wave of 20 pardons and commutations are not likely to be the last before Mr. Trump leaves office on Jan. 20.  —  In an audacious pre-Christmas round of pardons, President Trump granted clemency on Tuesday …

Trump calls on Congress to approve $2,000 stimulus checks, hinting that he might not sign economic relief bill into law without changes  —  The president has still not signed the measure even though it passed Monday night.  He called the measure “a disgrace.”

Republicans plunge into open battle over attempts to overturn Trump's loss to Biden  —  The GOP is plunging into open warfare over President-elect Joe Biden's election victory — with President Trump taunting Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell in a passive-aggressive email blast …

Trump White House staffers receive departure instructions  —  Staffers in the Executive Office of the President were informed Tuesday that they “will start departing” on the week of Jan. 4, according to an email from the White House Management Office.  —  The memo, which was obtained by POLITICO …

Another 803,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week  —  New York (CNN Business)Claims for unemployment benefits fell across most categories in Wednesday's Labor Department report.  Still the job market recovery has stalled while more than 20 million Americans need aid to make ends meet.

Sources: Secret Service Has No Plan if Trump Refuses to Go  —  But they do have procedures for handling trespassers.  —  If there are any checklists or plans, procedures or guidelines for the Secret Service to follow in the event of an autogolpe—a Latin American-style crisis …

Warnock's wife told officer that her husband is ‘a great actor’ after domestic dispute  —  Medical officials did not find visible signs of injury on his wife's foot and Warnock was never charged with a crime.  —  Ossoff, Warnock would embrace ‘far-left liberal policies’ in Senate: Alyssa Farah

FBI links Iran to online hit list targeting top officials who've refuted Trump's election fraud claims  —  The FBI has concluded that Iran was behind online efforts earlier this month to incite violence against the bureau's director, a former top U.S. cyber expert and multiple state elections …

Pfizer Nears Deal With Trump Administration to Provide More Vaccine Doses  —  The company could provide at least tens of millions of additional doses of a coronavirus vaccine under an agreement that would give it better access to the supplies it needs to expand manufacturing.

As Trump meets with QAnon influencers, the conspiracy theory's adherents beg for dictatorship  —  On Friday, President Donald Trump met with current and former advisers in the Oval Office, including retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, and one person familiar with the meeting said Flynn advocated …

What happened to Maria Bartiromo?  The Trump election fraud story has the TV news biz asking  —  When a public company makes news, a chief executive can expect a text or call from Maria Bartiromo.  —  The veteran business journalist, now an anchor at Fox News, made her bones by getting sit-downs …

Florida's Keyontae Johnson diagnosed with heart inflammation that has been associated with COVID-19  —  GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida forward Keyontae Johnson, who collapsed on the court during a game Dec. 12 at Florida State, has been diagnosed with a heart inflammation that may be related to an earlier infection for COVID-19.

Despite Trump's intense hunt for voter fraud, officials in key states have so far identified just a small number of possible cases  —  In Pittsburgh, the local police department this year received 10 complaints of possible fraudulent voting in the November election.

Jared Kushner signed off on secret payments to top campaign officials, source says  —  Source tells Salon that dubious shell-company arrangements to pay top officials were approved by Kushner and Trump  —  Top White House adviser Jared Kushner, President Trump's son-in-law …

U.S. reports more Covid deaths than ever before  —  The United States on Tuesday saw the highest number of Covid-19 deaths in a single day, according to a count of reports by NBC News.  —  The 3,350 reported deaths break a previous single-day high that was set just last week, on Dec. 16.

Brindisi-Tenney race narrows even more: 3 to 5 votes separate candidates  —  OSWEGO, N.Y. — The incredibly close race for the 22nd Congressional District got even closer Tuesday, as about 90 new votes from a bundle of about 2,500 affidavit ballots from Oneida County were counted.

Biden's coronavirus health adviser is a prop  —  If President-elect Joe Biden is paying his coronavirus adviser anything, he should try getting a refund.  Michael Osterholm doesn't seem to know much more about the pandemic than the average cable news anchor, and that kind of knowledge is basically free of charge.

Trump's private bankers resign from Deutsche Bank  —  New York (CNN Business)The private bankers responsible for lending to President Donald Trump and Jared Kushner have resigned from Deutsche Bank, the bank said.  —  “Rosemary Vrablic and Dominic Scalzi have tendered their resignations …

How the Centers for Disease Control Went Woke  —  In 2015, Dayna Bowen Matthew, the dean of George Washington University Law School, published a paper concerning racial disparities in health care.  She traced those disparities back to the Founding Fathers and argued their persistence today reflects the …

Donald Trump gives green light to EU-US lobster deal  —  A new presidential proclamation from U.S. President Donald Trump gives the green light from Washington for a mini-trade deal, or “lobster deal,” between the EU and the U.S.  —  Both sides agreed that the EU will remove its tariffs …

Arizona GOP May Face Sanctions for Filing Lawsuit Contradicted by Audit, Judge Suggests  —  The Arizona Republican Party could face court sanctions for filing a lawsuit even though the state's audit debunked its allegations, a judge suggested in a ruling tossing the case.