The Unbearable Weakness of Trump's Minions  —  Those hoping for a quick snapback to sanity for the Republican Party once Donald Trump is no longer president should temper those hopes.  —  The latest piece of evidence to suggest the enduring power of Trumpian unreality is yesterday's announcement …

Trump Fears That His Influence Is Waning  —  The president is plotting retribution.  Not just because he's mad about his election loss.  But because he wants to keep folks in line.  —  As his days in office come to a close, President Donald Trump has hinted to those close to him that he's worried …

Axios' Mike Allen: Some Republicans think Trump is trying to sabotage GOP in Georgia Senate races  — “There's a big strain of thought among Republicans that President Trump is sabotaging” the Georgia Senate runoffs, Axios co-founder Mike Allen told CNBC.  — Allen said Trump has …

Trump's Embarrassing Electoral College Hustle  —  It is doomed to fail but would still set a destructive precedent.  —  By The Editorial Board  —  President Trump's last and worst shot at overturning the 2020 election will come on Jan. 6, as the new Congress meets in joint session to tally the votes from the Electoral College.

Some healthcare workers refuse to take COVID-19 vaccine, even with priority access  —  They are front-line workers with top priority access to the COVID-19 vaccine, but they are refusing to take it.  —  At St. Elizabeth Community Hospital in Tehama County, fewer than half …

British PM Johnson's father applying for French citizenship  —  PARIS (Reuters) - The father of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday he was in the process of applying for a French passport to maintain his ties with the European Union after Brexit.

Iran accuses Trump of ‘plot to fabricate pretext for war’  —  Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif on Thursday accused President Trump of trying to create a “pretext for war” after the U.S. flew two B-52 bombers in the Middle East amid warnings of a possible attack in the region from Tehran.

Secret Service to make changes to presidential detail to bring on agents who worked with Biden  —  The Secret Service is making some staff changes in the presidential detail that will guard President-elect Joe Biden, amid concerns from Biden allies that some current members were politically aligned …

Nobody Reads  —  People who pretend to read as a status symbol are certainly obnoxious — but are they on to something?  —  When you first hear about a store called “Books by the Foot,” you might think: The name tells me they've got a whole lot of books to sell me.

Journalists' Behavior over Luke Letlow's Passing Is Abhorrent — and Telling  —  In no other health circumstance would such brutality toward the afflicted be tolerated.  —  On Tuesday evening, Congressman-elect Luke Letlow's (R., La.) family announced that he passed away at the age of 41 due to complications from COVID-19.

Senate Democrats' Motion To Concede On $2,000 Checks  —  How Democrats and Beltway pundits just helped Mitch McConnell undermine Bernie Sanders' push for direct aid to millions of Americans facing eviction, starvation and bankruptcy.  —  David Sirota and Andrew Perez  —  8 hr ago

2020 Shatters the Myth of American Exceptionalism  —  2020 will go down for me as the year I did not travel to Minnesota.  —  Strictly speaking, it is more accurate to say this was the year when I did not travel to my version of Minnesota.  —  My Minnesota is a crisp morning stroll in Northfield …

A Republican in Joe Biden's Cabinet?  The president-elect should just say no.  —  Naming a Republican is bad messaging and not necessary.  And it wouldn't signal strength or produce an envoy with persuasive powers over the opposition.  —  The doors may be closing on the chances of a Republican …

Elizabeth Warren's next chapter  —  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wants Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer replaced, lamenting that there's no one ready to step in.  Elizabeth Warren has a different approach.  —  The Massachusetts Democrat is a member of Schumer's leadership team and is working closely …

This Year's Underground Sensation: Modern Monetary Theory  —  At the close of 2020, it's hard to think of another year in living memory that has forced such a radical rethinking of our politics and social life.  The Covid-19 pandemic will be remembered as a dire time in American life …

Trump's legacy: $8 trillion-plus in added debt in one term  —  President Trump promised in the 2016 campaign to eliminate the federal debt over a two-term presidency.  That pledge won't come to fruition, and, in fact, he will leave office having added massively to the debt.

Congresswoman-elect Salazar to miss swearing-in ceremony due to Covid diagnosis  —  Congresswoman-elect María Elvira Salazar of Florida announced Thursday that she will miss the swearing-in ceremony for new members of Congress on Sunday in Washington after testing positive for the coronavirus.

Nashville's Big Bomb Was a Very Rare Device, Experts Think  —  Fire, flash and power signal a volatile fuel-air mix that even terrorists avoid  —  Find his test sites, top bomb experts say.  —  Anthony Quinn Warner's device, although probably made of common over-the-counter components …

Scoop: Trump administration declassifies unconfirmed intel on Chinese bounties  —  The Trump administration is declassifying as-yet uncorroborated intelligence, recently briefed to President Trump, that indicates China offered to pay non-state actors in Afghanistan to attack American soldiers …

Republicans Don't Know Anything About Their Party.  That's Very Bad for American Democracy.  —  While the packaging of Republican Party politics has evolved since 2000, what remains unaltered is a bedrock commitment to regressive tax cuts, a sharp curtailment of worker power and the elimination of health …

‘The Other Half of My Soul’: Widows of Covid-19 Bond Over Sudden Loss  —  Men have died of the coronavirus in larger numbers than women, leaving untold thousands of spouses suddenly alone.  Some have turned to bereavement groups on Facebook.  —  CHICAGO — One Friday evening, Sandra McGowan-Watts …