Senate votes to nix Biden's vaccine mandate for businesses  —  The Senate on Wednesday voted to nix President Biden's vaccine mandate for larger businesses, handing Republicans a symbolic win.  —  Senators voted 52-48 on the resolution, which needed a simple majority to be approved.

Scoop: Trump-backed Perdue says he wouldn't have certified Georgia 2020 results  —  Georgia gubernatorial candidate David Perdue wouldn't have signed the certification of the state's 2020 election results if he had been governor at the time, the former Senate Republican told Axios.

Sanna Marin: Finland's PM sorry for clubbing after Covid contact  —  Finland's Prime Minister Sanna Marin has apologised for going clubbing after coming into close contact with a Covid-19 case.  —  Sanna Marin went on a night out in Helsinki on Saturday, hours after her foreign minister had tested positive.

Meadows sues Pelosi, Jan. 6 panel and its members  —  Mark Meadows, facing the looming prospect of criminal contempt of Congress charges, is suing to block a subpoena from the Jan. 6 committee, arguing that it unconstitutionally intrudes on former President Donald Trump's powers to invoke executive privilege.

Fox News to Light New Christmas Tree After Previous One Torched  —  Fox News Media announced on Wednesday that a new tree will be lit on Thursday evening after its original one was allegedly burned by an arsonist early Wednesday morning.  —  The event on Fox Square in New York will include network personalities, clergymen and others.

Biden makes diplomatic concession to Russia with Nato talks plan  —  US president wants allies to discuss Moscow's ‘concerns’ in attempt to prevent invasion of Ukraine  —  Joe Biden has made a significant diplomatic concession to Moscow designed to prevent an invasion of Ukraine by signalling …

'It's just crazy': 12 major cities hit all-time homicide records  —  “It's worse than a war zone around here lately,” police official said.  —  At least 12 major U.S. cities have broken annual homicide records in 2021 — and there's still three weeks to go in the year.

De Blasio Fought for 2 Years to Keep Ethics Warning Secret.  Here's Why.  —  Mayor Bill de Blasio was warned that he created an “appearance of coercion and improper access” by directly contacting donors who had business before the city.  —  When Bill de Blasio was first elected mayor of New York …

Low-profile heiress who ‘played a strong role’ in financing Jan. 6 rally is thrust into spotlight  —  Eight days before the Jan. 6 rally in Washington, a little-known Trump donor living thousands of miles away in the Tuscan countryside quietly wired a total of $650,000 to three organizations that helped stage and promote the event.

Hillary Clinton chokes up as she reads parts of the victory speech she hoped to deliver in 2016  —  For the first time, Hillary Clinton is sharing the speech she would have made if she had won the 2016 presidential election.  —  The former first lady and secretary of state grows emotional …

Biden to award three Medals of Honor for combat actions in Iraq, Afghanistan  —  The Biden administration is planning to award Medals of Honor to three U.S. soldiers who fought in Afghanistan and Iraq, according to people familiar with the matter, a group that includes the first Black service member …

NC gerrymandering lawsuits delay 2022 election primary  —  North Carolina's 2022 primary election must be delayed — as gerrymandering lawsuits play out that could lead to redrawn districts — the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled Wednesday.  —  It's a win for the liberal voters and groups …

Believe it or not, Fox News once knew shame  —  It wasn't so very long ago that Fox News had some standards for what was unacceptable.  —  In 2008, a Fox host named E.D. Hill suggested that a playful fist bump between Barack and Michelle Obama looked like a “terrorist fist jab.”

Manchin quietly discusses Senate rules changes with Republicans  —  Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.), a key Democratic holdout on reforming the filibuster, is discussing small changes to Senate rules with Republicans.  —  Manchin's discussions with GOP colleagues — which haven't been previously reported …

Five key takeaways from Jussie Smollett's trial  —  News that actor Jussie Smollett had been the victim of a vicious racist and homophobic attack in downtown Chicago on Jan. 29, 2019, quickly made national headlines.  —  Celebrities and politicians rallied behind the openly gay actor …

What Happened to American Conservatism?  —  I fell in love with conservatism in my 20s.  As a politics and crime reporter in Chicago, I often found myself around public-housing projects like Cabrini-Green and the Robert Taylor Homes, which had been built with the best of intentions but had become nightmares.

The Coronavirus Attacks Fat Tissue, Scientists Find  —  The research may help explain why people who are overweight and obese have been at higher risk of severe illness and death from Covid.  —  From the start of the pandemic, the coronavirus seemed to target people carrying extra pounds.

Hispanic Voters Now Evenly Split Between Parties, WSJ Poll Finds  —  Republicans have made rapid gains among a crucial voting demographic that has long favored Democrats  —  The nation's large and diverse group of Hispanic voters is showing signs of dividing its support between Democrats …

Former President Trump On Boris Johnson's Woes, Sidney Powell's Dough And More  —  Former President Trump joined me this morning:  —  Audio:  —  12-08hhs-trump  —  Transcript:  —  HH: I'm joined now by former president of the United States, Donald Trump.  Mr. President, good morning.

California plans to be abortion sanctuary if Roe overturned  —  SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — With more than two dozen states poised to ban abortion if the U.S. Supreme Court gives them the OK next year, California clinics and their allies in the state Legislature on Wednesday revealed a plan to make the state a …

BNT162b2 Vaccine Booster and Mortality Due to Covid-19  —  Abstract  —  The emergence of the B.1.617.2 (delta) variant of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and the reduced effectiveness over time of the BNT162b2 vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech) led to a resurgence of coronavirus disease 2019 …

Abbott Leads O'Rourke By Double Digits In Texas Governor's Race, Quinnipiac University Texas Poll Finds; Texas-Mexico Border Dominates Issues For Voters  — mail_outline  —  In a head-to-head matchup in the race for governor of Texas, Republican Governor Greg Abbott leads Democratic …

Youngkin pledges to pull Virginia from carbon market by executive order  —  Gov.-elect Glenn Youngkin is pledging to use executive action to pull Virginia out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a carbon market involving 10 other Mid-Atlantic and New England states.

Pfizer and BioNTech Provide Update on Omicron Variant  — Preliminary laboratory studies demonstrate that three doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine neutralize the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529 lineage) while two doses show significantly reduced neutralization titers

Torrance police traded racist, homophobic texts.  It could jeopardize hundreds of cases  —  The caption read “hanging with the homies.”  —  The picture above it showed several Black men who had been lynched.  —  Another photo asked what someone should do if their girlfriend was having an affair with a Black man.

Death, drugs and a disbanded unit: How the Guard's Mexico border mission fell apart  —  On the evening of Sept. 10, a soldier deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border slid a manifesto under each door in his brigade headquarters and then slipped away.  —  The frustrated Army National Guardsman assigned …

Backroom defense bill lets dictators and kleptocrats off the hook  —  The most important national security legislation of the year has just been mismanaged so badly, it could end up letting some international bad guys escape accountability for some pretty horrible abuses and crimes.