Trump signs stimulus and government spending bill into law, averting shutdown  —  The president had demanded changes to the stimulus bill but on Sunday moved to release the stimulus funds after all  —  President Trump unexpectedly capitulated Sunday night and signed the stimulus bill into law …

The Post says: Give it up, Mr. President — for your sake and the nation's  —  Mr. President, it's time to end this dark charade.  —  We're one week away from an enormously important moment for the next four years of our country.  —  On Jan. 5, two runoff races in Georgia will determine …

Authorities identify Anthony Warner as Nashville bomber, say his remains were found in the wreckage  —  Neighbors describe Warner as a “recluse” with an interest in home security.  —  Anthony Quinn Warner was responsible for the Christmas morning explosion that rocked downtown Nashville …

Heather Cox Richardson Offers a Break From the Media Maelstrom.  It's Working.  —  She is the breakout star of the newsletter platform Substack, doing the opposite of most media as she calmly situates the news of the day in the long sweep of American history.

Political Reckoning  —  The year 2020 brought extraordinary and unexpected challenges that tested the strength of basic institutions, demanded courage and sacrifice in the face of a raging pandemic, underscored racial and economic inequities, and produced the biggest turnout of voters in the history of U.S. elections.

Reginald Foster, Vatican Latinist Who Tweeted in the Language, Dies at 81  —  One of the world's foremost experts on Latin, Father Foster was a monk who looked like a stevedore, dressed like a janitor and swore like a sailor.  —  Reginald Foster, a former plumber's apprentice from Wisconsin who …

Trump's legacy: An enduring contempt for truth?  —  PolitiFact, the fact checking site, was in a quandary over its annual “lie of the year” award; there were so many choices.  —  Instead of the usual one example, the award was given to the package of lies about the novel Coronavirus …

Meet the GOP freshmen taking on the squad  —  On the first day of Congress' freshman orientation, four incoming GOP members realized they shared a special connection: All had first- or second-hand experience living in communist or socialist countries.  —  The crew quipped that their family histories …

Turning the Corner on Covid  —  January will be tough but with sensible precautions the virus can be a manageable risk by spring.  —  The novel coronavirus is about to make its last major stand, so prepare for the most difficult six weeks yet.  But things will look up as spring approaches.

Even Homer Gets Mobbed  —  A Massachusetts school has banned ‘The Odyssey.’  —  A sustained effort is under way to deny children access to literature.  Under the slogan #DisruptTexts, critical-theory ideologues, schoolteachers and Twitter agitators are purging and propagandizing against classic texts …

Waiting for Joe Biden: How to make it through the final, awful days of Donald Trump  —  Marie Antoinette had nothing on Trump, who flew to Florida and hit the links after pardoning cronies and upending a desperately needed COVID relief deal.  —  Most of America likely is not surprised …

How the American system failed in 2020: Pandemic politics  —  Is there any solution to the deep and bitter polarization in American politics?  There is.  But it's not working.  —  The solution is supposed to come in the form of a crisis.  In a crisis, Americans pull together and rally behind a common cause.