A President Unhappy, Unleashed and Unpredictable  —  President Trump remains the most powerful man in the world, but powerless to achieve what he most wants: to avoid leaving office as a loser.  —  With four weeks left in President Trump's term, he is at perhaps his most unleashed — and …

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 …

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 …

Trump White House staffers receive conflicting messages about their departure  —  Conflicting internal memos created confusion inside the White House on Wednesday about when staffers in the Executive Office of the President should begin preparing to leave work ahead of the transition next month.

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.”

Octopuses are ocean thugs that punch fish  —  Despite its extraordinary intelligence, the life of an octopus is a solitary one.  So perhaps it is no wonder that the mighty brained cephalopod engages in a little thuggery to relieve the boredom.  —  Scientists have discovered that, on occasions …

Scoop: Pistol-packing freshmen prompt Congress gun review  —  Several incoming House freshmen have inquired about carrying guns into the Capitol, leading a board overseeing congressional security to rethink a regulation banning members from packing heat under the dome, a House aide with direct knowledge of the board review told Axios.

Democratic lawmaker says Trump campaign shell company was a campaign committee, likely broke law by not reporting or filing with the FEC … - Democratic Rep. Mark Pocan is asking the Justice Department and Federal Election Commission to investigate the Trump campaign's shell company.

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 …

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.

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.

$600 checks are a “crime,” says the pope's favorite economist  —  A conversation with economist Mariana Mazzucato on the case against Scroogenomics … I watched “The Muppet Christmas Carol” with my family last night, and whenever Michael Caine's Ebenezer Scrooge character came onscreen …

White Supremacists Discussed Shooting Up Power Grids, Forming ‘Fascist Society’: FBI  —  Federal agents were tracking a group earlier this year that discussed a violent mission to “wreak havoc” if Trump lost the election, according to mistakenly unsealed court docs.

July 1, 2020 Estimates of Population and Housing Units  —  DEC. 22, 2020 — The U.S. Census Bureau today released July​ 1, 2020 estimate​s of the total population and voting-age population for the nation and states.  Additional estimate​s for metropolitan and micropolitan statistical areas …

The case for a Chris Christie comeback  —  The former New Jersey governor has the perfect political résumé to bridge the party's divides in a post-Trump world.  —  Talk to enough mainstream Republican operatives , who are already brainstorming for the type of presidential nominee …

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.

A Massive Purge Is Underway at Alex Jones' Infowars  —  Layoffs!  Dissent!  A Michael Flynn snub!  Things are not well in the house that brain pills built.  —  At a pro-Trump rally in Washington D.C. earlier this month, conspiracy theory magnate Alex Jones came face-to-face with a star …

Clubhouse Makes Way for Influencers  —  Tech investors have warmed to the idea that being a content creator is a legitimate form of business.  —  Nearly every social media platform has turned its top users into stars: YouTubers, Viners, Dubsmashers, TikTokers, even LinkedIn influencers.

Trump pardons Blackwater contractors jailed for massacre of Iraq civilians  —  Four guards fired on unarmed crowd in Baghdad in 2007, killing 14 and sparking outrage over use of private security in war zones  —  President Donald Trump has pardoned four Blackwater security guards …

Rep. Jody Hice slams ‘inexcusable’ coronavirus relief bill, calls for reopening of economy  —  Hice says $2,000 checks are not a replacement for a stable income  —  Rep. Jody Hice accuses Alex Padilla of ‘probably illegal’ activity as secretary of state  —  Rep. Jody Hice, R-Ga. …

Miller, President Emeritus, Resigns After 45 Years in Md. Senate  —  State Sen. Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. (D-Calvert), the longest-serving Senate president in Maryland history — believed to hold the record for service of any state Senate president in U.S. history — resigned from the seat he's held for 45 years on Wednesday morning.

The Radical Heschel  —  ABRAHAM JOSHUA HESCHEL, who died on this day 48 years ago, was the greatest exemplar of the prophetic legacy of Jerusalem in the most anti-Jewish century of recorded time.  He drew inspiration from the biblical prophets, whom he wrote about in great depth …

How 2020 changed Justin Trudeau, and didn't  —  PROGRAMMING NOTE: Corridors will not publish from Thursday, Dec. 24 to Friday, Jan. 1.  We'll be back on our normal schedule on Wednesday, Jan. 6.  —  At the very beginning of this interminable year, Justin Trudeau grew a beard.

Column: The bittersweet victory of Alex Padilla, California's first Latino U.S. senator  —  Well, Gavin Newsom took two-thirds of my advice.  —  In November, I wrote that he should pick a Latino from the San Fernando Valley to replace Kamala Harris as a California U.S. senator.

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.

Officer in Columbus, Ohio fatally shoots Black man and only then turns on body camera, officials say  —  Columbus, Ohio — A police officer who shot and killed a Black man holding a cellphone in Ohio's capital city early Tuesday did not activate his body camera beforehand …

Iran's Rouhani says ‘madman’ Trump will suffer similar grim fate as hanged Saddam Hussein  —  ‘One imposed a military war on us, while the other imposed an economic war’  —  Iran's president on Wednesday described Donald Trump as a “madman”, likened him to former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein …