Scoop: McConnell leans toward convicting Trump  —  There's a better than 50-50 chance that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell would vote to convict President Trump in an impeachment trial, sources tell Axios.  —  What they're saying: “The Senate institutional loyalists are fomenting a counterrevolution” …

Pence Reached His Limit With Trump.  It Wasn't Pretty.  —  After four years of tongue-biting silence that critics say enabled the president's worst instincts, the vice president would not yield to the pressure and name-calling from his boss.  —  WASHINGTON — For Vice President Mike Pence, the moment of truth had arrived.

Mikie Sherrill claims Congress members gave ‘reconnaissance’ tours day before Capitol raid  —  In a live webcast Tuesday evening, Rep. Mikie Sherrill, D-11, made a startling claim that other members of Congress led groups of people through the Capitol Building on a “reconnaissance” …

FBI report warned of ‘war’ at Capitol, contradicting claims there was no indication of looming violence  —  A day before rioters stormed Congress, an FBI office in Virginia issued an explicit internal warning that extremists were preparing to travel to Washington to commit violence and “war …

Pelosi Names Impeachment Managers  —  Washington, D.C. - Speaker Nancy Pelosi today named Impeachment Managers.  —  “Tonight, I have the solemn privilege of naming the Managers of the impeachment trial of Donald Trump,” said Speaker Nancy Pelosi.  “It is their constitutional and patriotic duty …

Georgia man arrested following Capitol insurrection has died by suicide  —  Investigators: Christopher Georgia killed by a gunshot wound  —  An Alpharetta man who was among those arrested following the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol Wednesday has killed himself, according to the Fulton County Medical Examiner's Office.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says She Had A “Very Close Encounter” On The Day The Capitol Was Stormed And Thought She Would Die  —  WASHINGTON — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said in an Instagram Live on Tuesday night that she had a “very close encounter” on Jan. 6, the day of the violent insurrection …

Secret Service launches massive security operation to protect Biden inauguration  —  The Secret Service and federal law enforcement agencies are spending the final days of the Trump administration bracing for a possible violent assault against the Jan. 20 inauguration, launching a security mobilization …

Video shows retired Navy SEAL boasting of ‘breaching the Capitol’  —  The Navy veteran said he wanted lawmakers to be left “shaking in their shoes.”  —  Retired Navy SEAL boasts of ‘breaching the Capitol’  —  A video posted to Facebook by Adam Newbold following the Jan. 6 attack …

‘It was like looking at evil’: The Capitol attack through the eyes of the Massachusetts delegation  —  WASHINGTON — On the day Congress was set to count the electoral votes certifying President-elect Joe Biden's victory, Representative Seth Moulton was one of the first members …

Congressman Mo Brooks Rebuts Vicious & Scurrilous Fake News Media and Socialist Democrat Attacks  —  Washington, DC— Tuesday,Congressman Mo Brooks (AL-05) issued the below statement in response to scurrilous Fake News Media and Socialist Democrat attacks related to his January 6th “Save America” rally speech:

Capitol Hill Trump rally organizer Ali Alexander goes into hiding, raises $20k on Christian crowdfunding site  —  The public face of Trump's Stop the Steal rallies is using a Christian crowdfunding website to try and raise $40,000 for his personal expenses in the wake of the insurrection …

Once Trump leaves office, the Senate can't hold an impeachment trial  —  J. Michael Luttig served as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit from 1991 to 2006.  —  It appears that even if the House of Representatives impeaches President Trump this week …

Olympic Gold Medalist Was Part of Crowd That Invaded Capitol  —  Klete Keller, who won swimming medals in three Summer Games, was captured on video inside the U.S. Capitol Rotunda during last week's violent election protest.  —  Klete Keller, a champion swimmer who won two Olympic gold medals …

Exclusive: Luxembourg, EU snub Pompeo in final Europe trip, diplomats say  —  BRUSSELS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo cancelled his Europe trip at the last minute on Tuesday after Luxembourg's foreign minister and top European Union officials declined to meet him …

The Great Unraveling  —  The old order is dead.  What comes next?  —  5 hr ago  —  Thought comes before action.  Words come before deeds.  Media that profits from polarization will stoke it.  Lies — maybe harmless for the moment, maybe even noble — create a lying world.  —  I've known this for a while.

Bruce Willis asked to leave store for ‘refusing’ to wear a mask  —  He'd rather live free.  —  Bruce Willis was asked to leave a Los Angeles Rite Aid on Monday after he refused to wear a mask, a spy tells Page Six.  —  The spy says people inside the store became upset that Willis, 65 …

Lawmakers Were Feet and Seconds Away From Confrontation With the Mob in the Capitol  —  The rioters shouted they were searching for lawmakers; some made a narrow escape  —  With rioters ransacking the Capitol, Rep. Jim Himes hunkered in the visitors' gallery overlooking the House chamber.

U.S. Executes Lisa Montgomery for 2004 Murder  —  She was the first woman to be put to death by the federal government since 1953 and had been the only woman on federal death row.  —  WASHINGTON — The Trump administration early Wednesday morning executed Lisa M. Montgomery …

Trump business backlash part of ‘cancel culture,’ son says  —  NEW YORK (AP) — The PGA canceled its tournament at his golf course.  Banks say they won't lend to him anymore.  New York City is looking to end his contract to operate the Central Park skating rink.

Parler Users Breached Deep Inside U.S. Capitol Building, GPS Data Shows  —  At least several users of the far-right social network Parler appear to be among the hoard of rioters that managed to penetrate deep inside the U.S. Capitol building and into areas normally restricted to the public …

The Biggest Gun Forum On The Planet Was Just Kicked Off The Internet Without Explanation  —  “ARFCOM IS DOWN.  We've been booted from GoDaddy and are looking for an alternative solution,” the site announced Monday afternoon on Twitter. … The swift termination by internet host GoDaddy …

John Fetterman Is Not Mincing Words About MAGA Coup-Enabler Josh Hawley, Whose Soul He Says Is ‘Dipped In Dogsh*t’  —  Pennsylvania Lt. Governor John Fetterman is a verified Shakespeare when it comes to crafting articulate, downright eloquent takedowns of the worst GOP members.

McConnell is already sabotaging Biden's presidency  —  The Senate hasn't held a single confirmation hearing on Biden's nominees.  That's not normal.  —  Traditionally, after a presidential election, the Senate spends the period between when new senators are sworn in on January 3 …

Fox Runs the GOP.  And Fox Wants War.  —  SICK PEOPLE … Republicans have a truly remarkable capacity to see themselves as victims even at the moment when they are beating people to death with flagpoles and fire extinguishers.  —  On Wednesday, Jan. 6, Donald Trump told the group gathered …

Israel isn't a democracy, it's an ‘apartheid regime,’ rights group says  —  Jerusalem (CNN)Israel is no longer a democracy but an “apartheid regime” devoted to cementing the supremacy of Jews over Palestinians, the country's best-known human rights group said in a report published Tuesday.

Scoop: Biden inaugural returns cash from ex-senator-turned-foreign agent  —  President-elect Joe Biden's inaugural committee will refund a donation from former Sen. Barbara Boxer after the California Democrat registered as a foreign agent for a Chinese surveillance firm accused of abetting …

The President Deliberately Withheld Aid to Combat the Insurrection  —  There is a simple chain of events that even news outlets doing the best work are still tiptoeing around.  After President Trump gave his speech to the insurrectionists on Wednesday he returned to the White House …

House freshman divided over Capitol siege  —  The freshmen class of House Republicans has been fighting since last Wednesday's Capitol assault, creating a clear split just over a week after being sworn in.  —  What we're hearing: On Tuesday, Reps. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) and Marjorie Taylor Greene …

Public Radio Group Criticizes New York Times Over ‘Caliphate’ Correction  —  A letter signed by executives at 26 stations carrying “The Daily” accuses The Times of ethical lapses.  A high-level Times editor acknowledges mistakes.  —  Nearly a month after The New York Times announced that the 2018 podcast …

Autocracy ascends the cracks of democracy  —  Enough already.  It's time to find a way ahead.  —  3 hr ago  —  This is the introduction to Order from Chaos: The Architecture of American Renewal Comes from a Mindset of Grey-Zone Superiority — a Great Power monograph which will be published in 5 parts between January 12-17.

Four things Democrats should do in Biden's first 100 days  —  With the special election in Georgia concluded, Democrats completed their unlikely journey to total control of the government in Washington.  Joe Biden soon will be sworn in as our next president, and Democrats have retained narrow control …