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 …

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 …

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.

Trump Budget Chief Hampers Biden Transition With Ban on Meetings  — Agency director Russ Vought wants focus on last-minute rules  — Biden has complained OMB, Pentagon are hampering transition  —  President Donald Trump's budget office is blocking Joe Biden's transition team …

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.

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 …

Biden's Incoming Press Secretary: Briefings Won't Be A Platform For Right-Wing Spin  —  Toggle more options  —  President-elect Joe Biden's choice for White House press secretary says she will restore a tradition.  Unlike her immediate predecessors in the Trump administration …

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 …

Security firms say suspicious object on oil tanker off Iraq  —  DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Sailors involved in transferring fuel oil from an Iraqi tanker in the Persian Gulf to another vessel owned by a shipping company traded in the U.S. discovered a “suspicious object” they fear could be a mine, authorities said Thursday.

Biden's Team Tells Senate Democrats To Send Him Judicial Nominees ASAP  —  The president-elect wants recommendations for all existing district court vacancies by Jan. 19, says his incoming White House counsel.  —  President-elect Joe Biden is signaling that he's ready to move quickly with nominating judges once he's sworn into office.

West Virginia clinic gave 42 people an antibody treatment instead of the coronavirus vaccine  —  Forty-two people in West Virginia received an antibody treatment rather than Moderna's coronavirus vaccine in an error Wednesday at a vaccination clinic hosted by a county health department.

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.

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 …

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.

Perdue's Time as Dollar General CEO Marked by Charges of Wage Theft, Race and Sex Discrimination  —  Almost 2,500 employment cases were filed in federal court during his tenure.  —  Georgia Sen. David Perdue is seeking reelection in a campaign that could determine control of the U.S. Senate.

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 …

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.

Former U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss suffers ‘minor stroke’  —  Here's the statement we just received from Lauren Claffey Tomlinson, who was his press secretary in Washington and now is serving as the family spokeswoman: … We will pass along any details we receive as quickly as possible.

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 …

Joni Ernst receiving vaccine so quickly rankles the health care providers she insulted  —  Most of the doctors who answered my informal survey said they have earned less income in 2020 as a direct result of the pandemic.  —  View Comments  —  I felt a sting of disbelief when Sen. Joni Ernst's photo flooded the media.

Trump Appointee Seeks Lasting Control Over Radio Free Europe, Radio Free Asia  —  Michael Pack's stormy tenure over the federal agency that oversees government-funded broadcasters abroad — including Voice of America — appears to be coming to a close.  Yet President Trump's appointee …

Republicans Don't Know Anything About Their Party.  That's Very Bad for American Democracy.  —  By Ethan Winter  —  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 …

A year after coronavirus emerged in Wuhan, China's Xi declares 2020 a triumph  —  TAIPEI, Taiwan — In many parts of the world, beleaguered national leaders would be loath to reexamine the year 2020.  —  In China, Xi Jinping was exultant.  —  Xi delivered a confident New Year's address …