Giuliani told to preserve all records as lawyers for Dominion warn legal action is ‘imminent’  —  (CNN)A defamation law firm representing Dominion Voting Systems has sent letters to White House counsel Pat Cipollone and President Donald Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani instructing …

Trump vetoes defense bill, teeing up holiday override votes in Congress  —  President Trump made good Wednesday on his repeated threats to veto a $741 billion defense spending bill, setting up what is expected to be the first successful veto override of his presidency during his last weeks in office.

Trump Gives Clemency to More Allies, Including Manafort, Stone and Charles Kushner  —  It was the second wave of pardons and commutations by the president in two days, showing his willingness to use his power aggressively on behalf of loyalists.  —  President Trump doled out clemency …

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 …

POLITICO Playbook PM: No one knows how this ends  —  SO HOW DOES THIS END?  That's a damn good question.  —  NO ONE KNOWS.  Some say President DONALD TRUMP is in burn-it-down mode and is more than willing to veto the Covid relief/funding package, ending his presidency in a lengthy shutdown, with bluster and crisis.

EXCLUSIVE: A deputy to Eric Trump helped build a campaign shell company to protect the president from grift.  But the secretive operation morphed into a mystery — even for top Trump campaign staffers. … - One of Eric Trump's top deputies played an important role overseeing …

Andrew Yang Files Paperwork to Run for New York City Mayor  —  Businessman and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang has filed paperwork to run for mayor of New York City, the city's Campaign Finance Board confirmed on Wednesday.  —  Yang's filing has the potential to immediately upend …

Why I'm Losing Trust in the Institutions  —  The CDC came scarily close to adopting a plan that would, according to its own models, have killed thousands of Americans.  —  1 hr ago  —  Who should be first in line to get the vaccine against Covid-19?  —  These kinds of decisions are never easy …

The U.S. has vaccinated just 1 million people out of a goal of 20 million for December  — The CDC said just 1,008,025 shots had been administered as of Wednesday at 9 a.m. ET.  — That's roughly 19 million doses shy of earlier projections for December.

Rocket Attack on U.S. Embassy in Baghdad Largest in a Decade, General Says  —  U.S. Central Command chief says he doesn't know if Iran directed the attack, adding, ‘We do not seek a war’  —  WASHINGTON—The barrage of rockets launched at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad Sunday was the largest attack …

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 …

The secret Biden power broker  —  Welcome to POLITICO's 2020 Transition Playbook, your guide to one of the most consequential transfers of power in American history.  —  When President-elect JOE BIDEN tapped TED KAUFMAN to lead his transition last spring, Kaufman's first call was to MARK GITENSTEIN to enlist his help.

Fort Worth pastor who urged ‘faith over fear’ in the pandemic mourns parents who died of COVID complications  —  The pastor of 2nd Mile Church in north Fort Worth, where his parents were members, said he was surprised by the sudden surge in COVID cases in recent weeks in Tarrant County.

White House coronavirus task force no longer proactively sending reports to states  —  (CNN)The White House coronavirus task force has informed states that it will no longer proactively send its weekly state reports with tailored data and recommendations, according to multiple state officials.

NY Attorney General subpoenas pro-Trump troll Jacob Wohl for voter suppression scheme  —  Wohl and Jack Burkman have been criminally indicted in Ohio and Michigan in connection with the robocall scheme  —  The New York Attorney General's office has issued subpoenas to right-wing trolls Jacob Wohl …

Where in the World Is Kamala Harris?  —  Vice president-elect Kamala Harris made headlines earlier this year pushing $2,000 checks for all American.  But suddenly, despite being desperately needed right now, she's nowhere to be found on the issue.  —  Our new issue, “Failure Is an Option,” is out now.

The Long March Back  —  A prudent, controlled burn of the GOP's dead weight would be wiser than an unmitigated act of arson.  —  Remember the whole “burn it down” debate?  —  Last summer it divided the anti-Trump right.  (I'm not going to use “NeverTrump” because it's become a useless and often stupid label.)

Biden Declares Political Center Alive and Well  —  President-elect says there are enough GOP lawmakers prepared to meet him in middle that he can get things done in evenly divided Congress  —  President-elect Joe Biden wants you to know that reports of the death of America's political center are greatly exaggerated.

The World's Most Loathed Industry Gave Us a Vaccine in Record Time  —  At least one thing went right in 2020: Pharmaceutical companies came through.  Thank you, science.  —  At the end of 2019, before the coronavirus pandemic started, the two best-known faces of the pharmaceutical business …

Trump's Very Swampy Pardon of a Ben Carson Crony  —  Let our journalists help you make sense of the noise: Subscribe to the Mother Jones Daily newsletter and get a recap of news that matters.  —  President Donald Trump's recent spate of pardons has justifiably provoked outrage.

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 …