POLITICO Playbook: Biden embraces the left, while McCarthy may purge a member on the right  —  DRIVING THE DAY  —  BREAKING OVERNIGHT: House Minority Leader KEVIN MCCARTHY and his top lieutenants are leaning toward removing Rep. MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE (R-Ga.) from the House Education …

Trump aides made a late request to Team Biden to extend their parental leave.  They said no.  —  After four years in the Trump administration, Vanessa Ambrosini was looking forward to three months of parental leave when she and her husband welcomed a baby a week before Christmas.

In Rare Public Statement, Congressional Aides Call for Trump's Conviction  —  More than 370 Democratic aides issued an unusual public appeal, notable because congressional staff members rarely publicly express their own views.  —  WASHINGTON — More than 370 Democratic congressional aides …

Chuck Schumer Used Violent Rhetoric To Sic A Mob On Two Supreme Court Justices  —  One year ago, Schumer incited a mob on the steps of the Supreme Court in order to bully justices to rule in Democrats' favor.  —  When Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., spoke against the constitutionality …

The Down Side to Life in a Supertall Tower: Leaks, Creaks, Breaks  —  432 Park, one of the wealthiest addresses in the world, faces some significant design problems, and other luxury high-rises may share its fate.  —  The nearly 1,400-foot tower at 432 Park Avenue, briefly …

Eric Trump hits out at Scottish plan to debate his father's golf courses  —  Donald Trump's son Eric has lashed out at Scottish politicians ahead of a parliamentary debate on whether to launch an investigation into the financing of his father's resorts.  —  The debate in the Scottish parliament …

Capitol riot suspect asks court's permission to vacation in Mexico - and gets it  —  A woman accused of participating in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol asked a federal judge for permission to leave the country on vacation later this month - and got it.  —  In a Monday court filing …

Canada declares the Proud Boys a terrorist group  —  TORONTO — Canada on Wednesday declared the Proud Boys a terrorist entity, adding the far-right group to a list that includes al-Qaeda, ISIS and al-Shabab as part of an effort to crack down on what senior government officials called one of the country's “most serious threats.”

The AstraZeneca vaccine is shown to drastically cut transmission of the virus.  —  The University of Oxford research is the first to document a vaccine substantially reducing the virus's spread.  British officials said the results underscored how mass inoculations were key to ending the pandemic.

She was stunned by Biden's inauguration.  How this South Carolina mom escaped QAnon  —  Ashley Vanderbilt says her four-year-old daughter Emmerson knew “something was wrong with her mom.”  —  “I wasn't one hundred percent there like I should have been,” she recalls.

Steve Bannon Faces New York Criminal Probe  —  The former Trump White House strategist was pardoned on federal charges that he allegedly stole from a private campaign to build a southern border wall  —  Manhattan prosecutors have opened an investigation into Steve Bannon for potential crimes under …

EXCLUSIVE: Attorney Lin Wood under investigation over whether he voted illegally in November, officials say  —  ATLANTA — He has been one of the most vocal, visible and controversial critics of the integrity of Georgia's election.  —  Attorney Lin Wood filed lawsuits and held rallies …

FBI raids homes of 2 men who held rally on eve of Capitol attack  —  Washington (CNN)The FBI recently raided the homes of two men who sponsored an invective-laced rally near the US Capitol a day before the deadly insurrection, the first known search warrants involving people who organized and spoke at rallies preceding the attack.

Biden commits to $1,400 checks, but open to eligibility limits  —  President Biden said during a call with House Democrats on Wednesday that he is committed to boosting stimulus checks to $2,000 by giving most Americans another $1,400 in direct payments in a new round of coronavirus relief.

How DJT Lost the White House, Chapter 3: Crashing the White House (December 18-22)  —  On the evening of Friday, December 18, Sidney Powell, Mike Flynn, a sharp female attorney on Sydney's team (whom I will call “Alyssa"), and myself decided to call an SUV and get driven to the entrance …

As GameStop stock crumbles, newbie traders reckon with heavy losses  —  The Reddit forum that helped kick off the frenzy has given way to anxiety, financial bloodshed and infighting  —  As GameStop's stock plunged 60 percent Tuesday, the online horde that had raced to invest in the …

John Kerry took private jet to Iceland for environmental award, called it ‘only choice for somebody like me’  —  John Kerry questioned in 2019 over private jet use  —  President Biden's recently appointed climate czar, John Kerry, took a private jet to Iceland in 2019 to receive …

The GOP Might Still Be Trump's Party.  But That Doesn't Mean There's Room For Him.  —  Throughout his presidency, Donald Trump crossed lines that no other president has come close to.  And if there was ever any doubt, the final months of his presidency put that to rest.

Matt Gaetz Volunteers to Give Up House Seat to Defend President Trump in Senate Trial  —  Congressman Matt Gaetz said he would give up his seat in the House if asked to defend President Donald Trump in the upcoming impeachment trial.  —  “The President so far has gotten a low-energy defense,” Gaetz said in an interview with War Room.

Lawmakers aim to dissolve ‘draconian’ law that placed heavy financial burden on Postal Service  —  A bipartisan group of lawmakers in the House and Senate introduced legislation that would provide the Postal Service much-needed financial relief by doing away with a mandate that required …

In First White House Interview, Joe & Jill Biden Talk Marriage, Family, Prayer — and the Challenges Ahead  —  The new president and first lady open up about their initial days after returning to Washington, D.C., and starting the nation's next chapter: “We have problems, but we also have enormous opportunities”

The Terrifying Warning Lurking in the Earth's Ancient Rock Record  —  Photo Illustrations by Brendan Pattengale |  Images above: Glaciers from the Vatnajökull ice cap, in Iceland … We live on a wild planet, a wobbly, erupting, ocean-sloshed orb that careens around a giant thermonuclear explosion in the void.

‘We are lost:’ Fox News suffers ratings slump while staffers fret about post-Trump future  —  (CNN Business)A version of this article first appeared in the “Reliable Sources” newsletter.  You can sign up for free right here.  —  “We are lost,” a Fox News insider remarked to me recently …