Families on brink of eviction, hunger describe nightmare Christmas as $900 billion relief bill hangs in limbo  —  About 14 million Americans will lose unemployment aid on Saturday after President Trump and Congress were unable to reach a deal.  —  Millions of Americans who are hours away …

Sidney Powell's secret intelligence contractor witness is a pro-Trump podcaster  —  As she asked the U.S. Supreme Court this month to overturn President Trump's election loss, the attorney Sidney Powell cited testimony from a secret witness presented as a former intelligence contractor …

Sidney Powell Wants to Fight for Donald Trump—But His Aides Won't Let Her, She Says  —  President Donald J. Trump says he wants a lawyer to probe “election theft,” but the president's leading candidate, Sidney Powell, says she has been barred from the White House by the president's own chief of staff.

Frustrated Trump met with Pence before holiday break  —  Washington (CNN)Hours before President Donald Trump retweeted a message for his vice president to “act” in stopping the ratification of the Electoral College, he met for more than an hour in the Oval Office with Mike Pence …

Trump squeezes Republicans with eye on 2022 primaries  —  President Donald Trump has instructed his top political advisers to begin monitoring potential 2022 GOP primary targets, as he lashes out at fellow Republicans whom he deems disloyal.  —  With less than a month until Trump leaves office …

DeSantis spokesman Piccolo deletes his Twitter account after tweet about COVID-19 victims  —  Fred Piccolo, spokesman for Gov. Ron DeSantis, deactivated his Twitter account Wednesday after he tweeted in the middle of night that photos of each dead COVID-19 victim should be balanced with 99 photos of people who survive the disease.

Relative of Blackwater victim in Iraq says pardons ‘unfair’  —  BAGHDAD (AP) — Faris Fadel had just one word to describe the recent pardoning by the Trump administration of four private security contractors convicted of killing Iraqi civilians — including his brother — in a public square 13 years ago: Unfair.

Exclusive: Donald Trump's Martial-Law Talk Has Military on Red Alert  —  Pentagon and Washington-area military leaders are on red alert, wary of what President Donald Trump might do in his remaining days in office.  Though far-fetched, ranking officers have discussed what they would do if the president declared martial law.

How Much Herd Immunity Is Enough?  —  Scientists initially estimated that 60 to 70 percent of the population needed to acquire resistance to the coronavirus to banish it.  Now Dr. Anthony Fauci and others are quietly shifting that number upward.  —  At what point does a country achieve herd immunity?

Kelly Loeffler Falls Behind Raphael Warnock in Georgia Senate Runoff Poll  —  Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler has slipped behind Democratic challenger Raphael Warnock in the latest poll for next month's runoff election, while the race between Sen. David Perdue and Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff for the second seat remains on a knife-edge.

Judge dismisses GOP lawsuit to limit Georgia ballot drop box hours  —  A Fulton County judge dismissed a Republican Party lawsuit Thursday that tried to close absentee ballot drop boxes after normal business hours.  —  Superior Court Judge Kimberly Esmond Adams' ruling allows voters …

We in the ‘shallow state’ thought we could help.  Instead, we obscured the reality of a Trump presidency.  —  Sarah Isgur was the director of the Office of Public Affairs at the Justice Department from 2017-2018.  —  As far as I know, no spokesperson for the Justice Department has ever …

As Biden zeroes in on attorney general pick, some worry one contender is too moderate on criminal justice issues  —  As President-elect Joe Biden seeks an attorney general who can restore public faith in the Justice Department as an independent law enforcement institution while boosting internal morale …

Jared Kushner played a key role in White House pardon ‘free for all’  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump's son-in-law and top advisor, Jared Kushner, has played a key role in managing the avalanche of clemency requests that have come into the White House as the administration nears its end next month, according to multiple sources.

USPS and civil rights groups reach deal to fast-track ballots in Georgia runoff elections  —  The Postal Service agrees to treat ballots as express mail and take other steps to expedite delivery ahead of the Jan. 5 vote, avoiding a court fight  —  Civil rights groups and the U.S. Postal Service struck …

Host of ‘The Daily’ Clouds ‘N.Y. Times’ Effort To Restore Trust After ‘Caliphate’  —  Toggle more options  —  Late last week, The New York Times issued one of its biggest mea culpas in years.  The nation's leading newspaper returned a Peabody award and a citation as a finalist …

Hospital Workers Start to ‘Turn Against Each Other’ to Get Vaccine  —  “I am so disappointed and saddened that this happened,” a New York hospital executive wrote to his staff after workers who did not have priority cut the line for the vaccine.  —  At NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital …

Iran says U.S. approved its funds transfer to buy COVID vaccines  —  DUBAI (Reuters) -Iran has won U.S. approval to transfer funds for coronavirus vaccines from overseas, the central bank chief said on Thursday, as its daily death toll fell to a three-month low.

“If they don't like having me in the building, they can leave ... but I'm not going to leave”  —  My re-appearance on The Daily Signal Podcast looking back and forward at the ‘cancel culture’ directed at me: “right now it's a little bit quiet, but I think it's probably a little bit of calm before the next storm.”

Pompeo's Wife Tested Positive for Coronavirus as Cases Spiked  — State Department had scheduled large holiday gatherings  — Pompeo said Dec. 16 he was going into quarantine for exposure  —  Secretary of State Michael Pompeo's wife tested positive for the coronavirus …

Trump harmed national security by cutting refugee admissions to US — Biden will admit more  —  Opening our nation to such a small number of refugees betrays our values as a nation of immigrants  —  Texas becomes first state to close door on new refugees  —  The United States has all but vacated …