Massive downtown Nashville explosion an ‘intentional act’, police say  —  Yihyun Jeong Brinley HinemanNashville Tennessean  —  Nashville authorities believe an explosion that occurred in downtown Nashville early Christmas morning was an “intentional act” and sparked by a vehicle.

Andrew Kaczynski  —  Francesca Kaczynski, also known as Bean, Beanie or Beans, died December 24th of complications from cancer.  She was nine months old.  —  In her short life, Francesca was an outgoing, bold and curious baby.  She had huge, deep brown eyes that followed whatever her parents were doing.

Judge delays execution of only woman on US death row  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge said the Justice Department unlawfully rescheduled the execution of the only woman on federal death row, potentially setting up the Trump administration to schedule the execution after president-elect Joe Biden takes office.

Trump Lawyers Get Little Backup From Their Firms or Universities  —  Chapman University becomes the latest organization to formally distance itself from the president's legal efforts to challenge the election results  —  LAWYERS HELPING TRUMP with his quixotic election challenges …

An Oscar Winner Made a Khashoggi Documentary.  Streaming Services Didn't Want It.  —  Bryan Fogel's examination of the killing of the Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi had trouble finding a home among the companies that can be premier platforms for documentary films.

Gov. Whitmer finally answers whether she would have accepted a Biden VP offer  —  LANSING, Mich. (FOX 2) - We continue our look back at 2020 in part 2 of our exclusive 1-on-1 with Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer.  —  Capitol correspondents spent six months chasing the governor around …

Behind Trump Clemency, a Case Study in Special Access  —  Philip Esformes was sentenced last year to 20 years for Medicare fraud.  Then a well-connected organization supported by his family weighed in with the White House.  —  Philip Esformes acquired a $1.6 million Ferrari and a $360,000 Swiss watch …

Judge Tosses Out Rep. Nunes' Lawsuit Against Washington Post  —  A federal judge dismissed a defamation lawsuit against the Washington Post from Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) on Thursday, the latest development in a string of legal battles waged by Nunes against mainstream media outlets …

Democrats shatter fundraising records ahead of Georgia Senate runoffs  —  Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock shattered fundraising records by hauling in more than $100 million each in the past two months, significantly outraising GOP Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler in the final stretch …

POLITICO Playbook: Merry Christmas!  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  MERRY CHRISTMAS!  —  THE PRESIDENT is complaining to people he speaks to that the coronavirus/government funding package has too much “pork,” as he says, and the direct payments are too low.  The bill has been flown to Florida from Washington for his signature.

China's atrocities in Tibet are growing too big to ignore  —  The world is finally responding to the Chinese government's mass atrocities against Uighurs and other ethnic minorities in China's northwest province of Xinjiang.  But now Beijing is replicating some of its worst practices …

FBI team leader: How I know the Blackwater defendants didn't deserve a pardon from Trump  —  Thomas O'Connor served for 23 years as an FBI special agent before retiring in 2019.  The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own.  View more opinion at CNN.

What watchdogs?  Trump leaves office with key IG jobs vacant across govt  —  As President-elect Joe Biden continues to weigh critical Cabinet appointments, the new administration will be confronting widespread vacancies in watchdog offices across the government.

Pence under pressure as the final step nears in formalizing Biden's win  —  Vice President Pence urged an audience of conservative youth activists earlier this week to “stay in the fight,” as they chanted “Four more years” and “Stop the steal” to trumpet their embrace of the groundless notion …