Extremists made little secret of ambitions to ‘occupy’ Capital in weeks before attack  —  A digital flyer made public on Instagram and Facebook in December made little secret of the ambitions of some of the people planning to visit Washington on Jan. 6: “Operation Occupy the Capitol.”

Donald Trump's Final Days  —  The best outcome would be for him to resign to spare the U.S. another impeachment fight.  —  By The Editorial Board  —  The lodestar of these columns is the U.S. Constitution.  The document is the durable foundation protecting liberty, and this week it showed its virtue again.

Pro-Trump rioters smeared poop in U.S. Capitol hallways during belligerent attack  —  They took a dump on the seat of American democracy — literally.  —  Some of the unhinged pro-Trump rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday defecated inside the historic building and “tracked” …

Dominion sues pro-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, seeking more than $1.3 billion  —  Dominion Voting Systems on Friday filed a defamation lawsuit against lawyer Sidney Powell, demanding more than $1.3 billion in damages for havoc it says Powell has caused by spreading “wild” and “demonstrably false” …

Farah: Election Results “Almost Perfectly Aligned” With Team Trump's Internal Polling  —  And Alyssa Farah would know.  Farah worked in Donald Trump's White House, following a few years of working in and around other MAGA figures, or at least she did until a month ago or so.

Major Josh Hawley donor calls for him to be censured by the U.S. Senate  —  A Joplin businessman who helped bankroll Sen. Josh Hawley's first campaign denounced him on Thursday as a “political opportunist” who used “irresponsible, inflammatory, and dangerous tactics” to incite the rioting that took over the U.S. Capitol Building.

Tarnished by Trump: National security officials struggle to find new jobs  —  They have been snubbed by potential employers, told they would be a “liability” and in one instance were even compared to the “Hitler Youth.”  —  This is the job market many experienced national security officials …

Pentagon put significant restrictions on D.C. Guard ahead of pro-Trump protests  —  The Pentagon placed significant restrictions on the D.C. Guard ahead of pro-Trump protests this week, putting the District's military force in a back-seat role ahead of events that resulted in an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

Texas woman flew on private jet to Washington, DC to ‘storm the Capitol’  —  A real estate broker from Frisco, Texas, flew on a private jet to Washington, DC, along with friends to “storm the Capitol” on Wednesday.  —  Jenna Ryan, who is also a radio host, flew from US Trinity Aviation in Denton …

Biden push for new stimulus checks runs into roadblock from key Democratic senator  —  President-elect aims to move quickly on stimulus plan as economy sheds jobs, but already faces divisions within party  —  President-elect Joe Biden's plans for a major new economic relief package boosting stimulus payments …

‘What else could I do?’  NJ Rep. Kim helps clean up Capitol  —  Water bottles, clothing, Trump flags, even a U.S. flag littered the ground inside the U.S. Capitol after a mob backing President Donald Trump ransacked the building.  —  New Jersey Rep. Andy Kim walked amid the mess shortly …

Exclusive: Biden will release nearly all available vaccine doses in break from Trump administration policy of holding back stock for second dose  —  Vaccination rate will take 3 years to reach herd immunity  —  (CNN)President-elect Joe Biden will aim to release nearly every available dose …

American Democracy Survived Ted Cruz's Demagoguery—This Time  —  Texas's junior senator shares responsibility for inciting the mob that breached the U.S. Capitol.  That's brought him scorn from much of the country—but might win him fresh support from Trump Republicans.  —  NOTES

Senator Ben Sasse On Impeachment and Transition, the GOP in Minority  —  Senator Ben Sasse (R-NE) joined me this morning:  —  Audio:  —  01-08hhs-sasse  —  Transcript:  —  HH: I'm joined now by Senator Sasse.  Good morning, Senator.  —  BS: Good morning, Hugh.

Alabama man 1 of 5 who died in wake of Washington, D.C. chaos  —  Kevin Greeson of Athens, Ala. (photo supplied by the Greeson family)  —  CloseMore share options:  —  A 55-year-old Athens man was one of the people who died on Wednesday while chaos broke out at the Capitol building.

Why 300 Doses of Vaccine Sat Unused in Freezers for 2 Weeks  —  Small numbers of doses have even been thrown out as New York City's mass vaccination campaign gets off to a dispiriting start.  —  Dr. Peter Meacher expected to receive just a small supply of Moderna's coronavirus vaccine …