House committee receives Donald Trump's federal tax returns from IRS  —  The House Ways and Means Committee now has six years of Donald Trump's federal tax returns, ending a yearslong pursuit by Democrats to dig into one of the former president's most closely guarded personal details.

Georgia GOP chairman singled out by judge for central role in fake elector plot  —  A state judge singled out Georgia Republican Party chairman David Shafer, one of the fake electors for Donald Trump, for the unique role he played in efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the Peach State as part of a ruling on Wednesday.

Twitter is less safe due to Elon Musk's management style, says former top official  —  Washington CNN Business —  Twitter owner Elon Musk's dictatorial management style risks driving the company headlong into unforced business blunders, content moderation disasters and the degradation …

Garland praises Oath Keepers verdict, won't say where Jan. 6 probe goes  —  Justice Dept. will weigh seditious conspiracy conviction in deciding whether to pursue other high-profile Trump allies, people familiar with the matter said  —  A day after a federal jury convicted two far-right extremists …

U.S. gas prices plunge toward $3 a gallon as demand drops worldwide  —  The average price of gas is back to where it was before Russia invaded Ukraine.  It is putting real money back in Americans' wallets.  —  The cost of gasoline is falling so fast that it is beginning to put real money …

House, Senate negotiators agree to add $45B to Biden's defense budget  —  An emerging compromise on annual defense policy legislation will endorse a $45 billion increase to President Joe Biden's defense spending plans, according to four people familiar with the negotiations.

NPR to impose near-freeze on hiring but avoids layoffs as budget cuts loom  —  NPR will need to cut at least $10 million from the current fiscal year ending next September 30, the network's chief executive, John Lansing, announced Wednesday, due to a sharp drop in revenue from sponsors.

The Washington Post will end its Sunday magazine, eliminate positions  —  Executive editor Sally Buzbee said the magazine would end ‘in its current form’ after printing its final issue on Dec. 25.  —  The Washington Post will stop publishing its stand-alone print magazine …

Netflix's Reed Hastings Admits He Was Wrong About Advertising, Says ‘Glass Onion’ Theatrical Release Was Promotional Tactic … Netflix co-CEO and chairman Reed Hastings conceded that he wished the streamer had introduced an ad-supported plan years ago.  —  Netflix's reluctance to adopt advertising was …

No Dissent on Abortion Allowed at Hogan Lovells  —  The global law firm fired me for defending the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision.  —  After the Supreme Court issued its Dobbs decision overturning Roe v. Wade in June, global law firm Hogan Lovells organized an online conference call for female employees.

EXCLUSIVE: Biden's married, non-binary nuclear waste guru who stole woman's $2,325 bag from airport hosted SPANKING seminar at kink conference just weeks later - under ‘NuclearNerd’ nickname that's still in use on fetish hookup website  — Sam Brinton, a high ranking official in Biden's DoE …

Assembly prepared to vote against seating Brooklyn Republican over residency question  —  In an extremely rare move, the Democratic-led state Assembly is preparing to vote against seating the Republican winner of an Assembly race in Brooklyn, Lester Chang, because he may not have moved …

‘Look, I Screwed Up’: Sam Bankman-Fried Is Challenged on the Collapse of FTX  —  FTX, the crypto exchange Mr. Bankman-Fried founded, declared bankruptcy this month in a failure that wiped out billions of investor dollars.  He said his lawyers did not want him to talk, but he answered questions at the DealBook Summit.

Happy holidays?  Florida school district walks back decision to nix Hanukkah presentation  —  Pasco County Schools says it has reversed its decision to deny a mother's request to give a Hanukkah presentation to her son's fifth grade class after reporters contacted the district for an explanation.

Why America's Railroads Refuse to Give Their Workers Paid Leave  —  For months, the world's largest economy has been teetering on the brink of collapse because America's latter-day robber barons can't comprehend that workers sometimes get sick.  —  Or so the behavior of major U.S. rail companies seems to suggest.

Musk's Neuralink Hopes to Implant Computer in Human Brain in Six Months  —  Elon Musk's Neuralink Corp. aims to start putting its coin-sized computing brain implant into human patients within six months, the company announced at an event at its Fremont, Calif. headquarters on Wednesday evening.

ICE accidentally released the identities of 6,252 immigrants who sought protection in the U.S.  —  Immigration and Customs Enforcement accidentally posted the names, birthdates, nationalities and locations of more than 6,000 immigrants who claimed to be fleeing torture and persecution to its website on Monday.

‘Breach of the Big Silence.’ Protests Stretch China's Censorship to Its Limits  —  Days later, videos of chants and confrontations are still visible on the Chinese internet.  It's a sign of how a groundswell outmatched the world's best internet control system.  —  In one video, a man sarcastically sings a patriotic song.

Trump's dinner with antisemites provides test of GOP response to extremism  —  Republicans are showing increasing boldness in criticizing Trump over his meeting with white nationalist Nick Fuentes and Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West who has issued anti-Jewish diatribes

Epstein Estate Agrees to Pay More Than $105 Million to U.S. Virgin Islands  —  The estate of the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein will repay tax benefits and half the proceeds from the sale of an island he owned.  —  Matthew Goldstein, who covers white-collar crimes, has been following the Jeffrey Epstein case since 2019.

Judge scolds Justice Department for its slow investigations at hearing for Rep. Matt Gaetz's convicted associate  —  A federal judge scolded the Justice Department on Wednesday over what he characterized as slow-moving investigations during a hearing for one of GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz's former associates …

Rubio stokes 2024 chatter with planned book release  —  There's a possible new entrant in the 2024 GOP book primary: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.).  —  Rubio, who finished third in the 2016 GOP primary race, is set to release a new book, titled “Decades of Decadence,” on June 13 with jockeying underway for the 2024 presidential primary.

Hakeem Jeffries elected House Democratic leader  —  Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), the chair of the House Democratic Caucus, was elected by his colleagues on Wednesday to serve as minority leader. … - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who has led the caucus since 2003 …

Teen Mississippi Rape Victim Forced to Travel 500 Miles For Abortion, Report Says  —  The parents of a teenage Mississippi rape victim had to travel more than 500 miles to help their daughter obtain an abortion in Illinois, WAPT's Megan West reported.  The family told the local Jackson anchor …

Black Turnout in Midterms Was One of the Low Points for Democrats  —  But the effects of the decrease wound up being muted.  —  There was a lot of good news — or at least news that felt good — for Democrats this election cycle, from holding the Senate to remaining stubbornly competitive in the House.

Meet the legal nerd who MAGA bigwigs are turning to for help  —  Stanley Woodward wasn't supposed to be here, at the epicenter of the most contentious legal matters facing Trump world.  —  But now he's everywhere.  —  On Oct. 19, the veteran attorney was in court representing Oath Keeper Kelly Meggs …

Buckingham Palace Staff Member Resigns Over Remarks to Black Guest  —  The founder of an antiviolence support group said an aide pressed her on where she was from, dismissing Britain as an answer.  The palace called the questioning “unacceptable and deeply regrettable.”

SF police ‘killer robots’ motion passes  —  Police in San Francisco will have the ability to deploy potentially lethal, remote-controlled robots in emergency situations after supervisors of the politically Democratic city granted permission Tuesday in a board vote.

Rep. Madison Cawthorn Uses Final House Speech To Rail Against ‘Soft Metrosexuals’  —  “Our young men are taught that ... being a soft metrosexual is more valuable than training the mind, body, and soul,” the soon-to-be-former congressman claimed.  —  Far-right congressman Madison Cawthorn …

AG: Penalize doctor who spoke of Ohio 10-year-old's abortion  —  Indiana's Republican attorney general on Wednesday asked the state medical licensing board to discipline an Indianapolis doctor who has spoken publicly about providing an abortion to a 10-year-old rape victim who traveled from Ohio …

Fearful of U.S. Jewish Backlash, Netanyahu Tries to Minimize His Extremist Partners  —  The prime minister-designate's tone-deaf attempts to assuage American Jews about his new far-right government will only push liberals further away from him  —  WASHINGTON - Amid growing signs of unease within …