Donald Trump ‘shied away from criticising Nick Fuentes’  —  Advisers wanted ex-president to distance himself from white supremacist with whom he dined but Trump feared alienating supporters - insiders  —  Donald Trump repeatedly refused to disavow the outspoken antisemite …

House Dems on GOP's thin majority: Welcome to hell  —  Democrats just spent two harrowing years navigating one of the tiniest majorities in House history.  Now it's the GOP's turn — and things could get even worse.  —  House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and his team are set …

Crowd angered by lockdowns calls for China's Xi to step down  —  Protesters angered by strict anti-virus measures called for China's powerful leader to resign, an unprecedented rebuke as authorities in at least eight cities struggled to suppress demonstrations Sunday that represent a rare direct challenge to the ruling Communist Party.

Twitter grapples with Chinese spam obscuring news of protests  —  For hours, links to adult content overwhelmed other posts from cities where dramatic rallies escalated  —  SAN FRANCISCO — Twitter's radically reduced anti-propaganda team grappled on Sunday with a flood of nuisance content …

Major News Outlets Urge U.S. to Drop Its Charges Against Assange  —  In a joint letter, news organizations warned that the indictment of Julian Assange “sets a dangerous precedent” that could chill reporting about matters of national security.  —  WASHINGTON — The New York Times …

The Jolt: Warnock rallies weekend voters, but Walker is out of sight  —  U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock hardly took any time off for Thanksgiving break, headlining six separate events scattered across metro Atlanta this weekend to pump up weekend voting.  Meanwhile, Herschel Walker …

Word of the Year 2022  —  ‘Gaslighting,’ plus ‘sentient,’ ‘omicron,’ ‘queen consort,’ and other top lookups of 2022  —  In this age of misinformation—of “fake news,” conspiracy theories, Twitter trolls,and deepfakes—gaslighting has emerged as a word for our time.

Russia-Ukraine War  —  Russia Denies Reports That It Will Withdraw from Embattled Nuclear Plant … The Kremlin tries to tamp down speculation that its forces will leave the Zaporizhzhia plant.  —  KYIV, Ukraine — Following a string of Ukrainian military successes in the south …

High-profile Republicans gain followers in first weeks of Musk's reign  —  Shift in follower counts for Elizabeth Warren, Ted Cruz show how the platform is beginning to change under Musk  —  High-profile Republican members of Congress gained tens of thousands of Twitter followers …

Judge reprimands Trump Corp. lawyers for late night filings  —  New York CNN —  Judge Juan Merchan reprimanded lawyers for the Trump Corporation for filing motions and new exhibits late Sunday night that they want to introduce Monday morning when they question Mazars accountant Donald Bender …

Inside the Billionaire-Backed ‘Hub for Election Denial’  —  Dick Uihlein has been awfully busy backing election deniers.  A new IRS filing shows he also teamed up with one.  —  Right-wing megadonor Dick Uihlein has been funneling tens of millions of dollars to election deniers …

Why Is It So Hard for Men to Make Close Friends?  —  American men are stuck in a “friendship recession.”  Here's how to climb out.  —  The Tuesday before every Thanksgiving, Aaron Karo and Matt Ritter, both 43, go out to dinner with a group of seven men whom they befriended as second graders in Plainview, N.Y.

WHO renames monkeypox as mpox, citing racism concerns  —  The World Health Organization has renamed monkeypox as mpox, citing concerns the original name of the decades-old animal disease could be construed as discriminatory and racist.  The U.N. health agency said in a statement Monday …

Turning Point for Garland as Justice Dept. Grapples With Trump Inquiries  —  After months of an already hyperpartisan political environment, the attorney general appears to be acknowledging that his approach has to be recalibrated.  —  WASHINGTON — Attorney General Merrick B. Garland …

The GOP's great Trump reckoning begins at the state party level  —  For years, Lou Barletta counted himself among Donald Trump's most diehard allies.  The former Pennsylvania Republican gubernatorial candidate and congressman endorsed him at a time in 2016 when many GOP elected officials saw Trump as radioactive.

CNN ANNOUNCES PHIL MATTINGLY AS CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT AND MJ LEE AS SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT  —  CNN has announced new assignments for its White House team, effective immediately.  —  Phil Mattingly has been promoted to Chief White House Correspondent.

Brooklyn Democratic Machine Appoints Little Pakistan Residents to Party Posts Without Their Knowledge  —  A former party leader in the borough says ‘ghost appointees’ are not a new phenomenon.  —  At least ten people living in Brooklyn's Little Pakistan neighborhood were appointed to obscure …

Jan. 6 committee is questioning ex-Trump aide Kellyanne Conway  — Former top Trump White House aide Kellyanne Conway is being questioned by the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, NBC News reported.  — She was accompanied by attorney Emmet Flood …