Louisiana Congressman-elect Luke Letlow dies with COVID  —  Louisiana Congressman-elect Luke Letlow has died at Ochsner LSU Health in Shreveport with COVID-19, a family friend confirmed Tuesday night.  —  Letlow, 41, was transferred from St. Francis Medical Center to the Ochsner LSU Health ICU …

Ted Cruz's Georgia Runoff Fundraising Is Actually Going to His Campaign.  He's Not Alone  —  The runoff is a gold mine for politicians.  And now that they can run Facebook ads in Georgia, they're rushing for it.  —  Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) needs your help to keep the U.S. Senate in Republican hands.

Sen. Hawley announces he will contest certification of electoral college vote  —  Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced Wednesday that he would object next week when Congress convenes to certify the electoral college vote, a move that all but ensures at least a short delay in cementing President-elect Joe Biden's victory.

Girlfriend warned Nashville police Anthony Warner was building bomb a year ago, report shows  —  NASHVILLE — Sixteen months before Anthony Quinn Warner's RV exploded in downtown Nashville on Christmas morning, officers visited his home in Antioch after his girlfriend reported that he was making bombs …

Trump calls on Georgia Gov. Kemp to resign  —  President Trump called for Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp's (R) resignation on Wednesday, hammering him for refusing to back up the president's claim that he carried Georgia in the November presidential election — despite his loss by 12,000 votes …

Hilaria Baldwin Talks About Her Heritage, Spain, Boston, Alec and Instagram  —  Accused of a “decade long grift where she impersonates a Spanish person,” the entrepreneur and spouse of Alec Baldwin talks about Spain, Boston, her children, Instagram and more.

Biden to tap longtime officials for top Pentagon roles  —  President-elect Joe Biden plans to nominate two former senior officials to fill the Pentagon's No. 2 and No. 3 jobs, transition officials said, further signaling the new administration's intent to forge a more predictable foreign policy …

US pardons for Blackwater guards an “affront to justice” - UN experts  —  A group of UN experts* said the pardons granted to four convicted private security contractors for war crimes in Iraq violated US obligations under international law, and called on all States parties to the Geneva Conventions to condemn the pardons.

Even If It's ‘Bonkers,’ Poll Finds Many Believe QAnon And Other Conspiracy Theories  —  Toggle more options  —  A significant number of Americans believe misinformation about the origins of the coronavirus and the recent presidential election, as well as conspiracy theories like QAnon, according to a new NPR/Ipsos poll.

Covid-19 Vaccine Made by AstraZeneca, Oxford Is Authorized by U.K.  —  Green light for emergency use comes as Britain grapples with a surge in cases and a new variant  —  LONDON—The U.K. authorized a Covid-19 vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca PLC …

Trump's big policy win: Stronger showers, faster dishwashers.  It's something almost no one asked for.  —  One change he talked about frequently won't happen: A reversal of water limits on toilet flushes  —  President Trump was on a roll, standing before an adoring crowd in Carson City …

The Cruise Ship Suicides  —  Confined mostly to tiny cabins as the pandemic unfolded, crew members struggled to cope.  —  At first, Jozsef Szaller's crewmates didn't think much of his absence.  Szaller, after all, usually skipped going to dinner on the Carnival Breeze …

N.Y. prosecutor hires forensic accounting experts as Trump criminal probe escalates  —  NEW YORK — The Manhattan District Attorney's Office has retained forensic accounting specialists to aid its criminal investigation of President Trump and his business operations, as prosecutors ramp …

Why the Nashville explosion is confounding terrorism experts  —  Christmas Day explosion in Nashville, Tennessee, is puzzling even for terrorism commentators and scholars.  It employed many familiar features of terrorist attacks in modern history, but the particular combination was unprecedented, raising interesting questions about the

CNN's Don Lemon, PBS' Yamiche Alcindor and NBC's Chuck Todd to Guest Author Politico's Playbook (Exclusive)  —  Politico is turning to high-profile journalists, including Recode co-founder Kara Swisher and Washington Free Beacon editor-in-chief Eliana Johnson, to helm Playbook until a new team starts later in January.

US bomber mission over Persian Gulf aimed at cautioning Iran  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The United States flew strategic bombers over the Persian Gulf on Wednesday for the second time this month, a show of force meant to deter Iran from attacking American or allied targets in the Middle East.

2020 Man of the Year: MAGA Matt Yglesias  —  You know how it goes: You oppose defunding the cops, and a million rose emojis scream at you for hours.  You sign a letter tepidly endorsing free speech, and your colleagues denounce you to your bosses and Twitter.

Proud Boys Are at War With Their Female Extremist Wing  —  A transphobic MMA fighter has announced herself to be the “Den Mother” of the Proud Girls, but some members of the extremist, misogynistic Proud Boys don't want her in the ranks.  —  BEAST INSIDE  —  When Donald Trump tweeted …

Washington Football Team ownership dispute escalates with allegations of financial malfeasance  —  Washington Football Team owner Daniel Snyder's three partners discovered “serious corporate irregularities” in reviewing the team's 2019 financial statements, including “long missing financials …

US hits record for daily Covid-19 deaths.  Winter will be ‘awful’ before we see ‘some light,’ expert says  —  Nurse uses social media to warn public about Covid-19  —  (CNN)The US set two more devastating Covid-19 records as it counted down the hours to the end of what has been a calamitous year for the nation.

The Trümperdämmerung Is a Fitting End to 2020  —  As the awful year of 2020 and the awful tenure of Donald Trump both come to an end, the President has partied with the unmasked in Palm Beach and taken credit for a vaccine against a virus that he once counselled could be beaten with bleach.

Dr. Fauci lied about coronavirus to manipulate our behavior — that's appalling  —  Placing blind faith in unelected celebrity scientists has its limits, and we must not be afraid to call them out  —  Fauci under fire for moving herd immunity goalposts  —  Thanks to our news media's …

Public health inspectors targeted and doxed by GOP leader  —  The Parker Republicans' leader began publishing the names and home addresses of public health workers online Monday.  —  DOUGLAS COUNTY, Colo. — The leader of the Parker Republicans was posting the names and home addresses …

Former Jewish American Spy Jonathan Pollard Lands in Israel  —  Pollard, who was convicted in 1987 of spying for Israel, served 30 years in prison and five years on strict parole in the United States  —  Former Jewish American spy Jonathan Pollard and his wife Esther landed in Israel …