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.

EU and US turn up the heat on Elon Musk over Twitter  —  EU commissioner warns billionaire he must adhere to the rules as Janet Yellen indicates Washington could review purchase  —  Elon Musk is under renewed pressure from the US and EU over his ownership of Twitter, as regulators clamp …

Just Wait Until You Get to Know Ron DeSantis  —  Governor Ron DeSantis has a growing store of admirers.  This includes many who have watched the cantankerous Floridian only from afar.  They have heard glowing things.  He was the biggest winner of an otherwise dark election cycle for Republicans.

House Democrats will elect a new generation of leaders Wednesday  —  WASHINGTON — House Democrats will elect their new leadership team Wednesday morning, ushering in a younger generation of leaders after Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer decided to step aside after Democrats narrowly lost the majority this month.

Lawyers told to choose between GOP chair and 10 other fake electors  —  Either state GOP chairman David Shafer or 10 other Republicans who falsely purported to be Georgia's presidential electors must find new lawyers to represent them in the ongoing criminal investigation of what happened …

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.

House January 6 committee chairman says panel ‘close to putting pens down’ on final report  —  The chairman of the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol said Tuesday that the panel is “close to putting pens down” on its final report, which is slated for release by the end of this Congress.

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.”

DHS warns of domestic terror threats to LGBTQ, Jewish and migrant communities  —  In a terrorism advisory bulletin issued Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security raised concerns about potential threats to the LGBTQ, Jewish and migrant communities from violent extremists inside the United States.

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 …

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.

The GOP's same-sex marriage evolution: A slow, choppy tidal shift  —  Thom Tillis has helped ink plenty of bipartisan deals over the past two years.  His advocacy for protecting same-sex marriage rights still surprised some of his fellow senators.  —  “When people first saw me get involved …

NYC mother-of-three refuses to take plea deal and now faces seven years in prison after slamming into group of BLM protesters in 2020 - sending 50 flying across Third Ave - when they attacked her BMW  — Kathleen Casillo, 54, rejected a plea deal for a second time on Tuesday

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 …

Braun to run for Indiana governor, opening Senate seat in 2024  —  Indiana Sen. Mike Braun is running for governor, according to paperwork filed with the secretary of state's office Tuesday.  —  POLITICO reported in September that Braun, elected to the Senate in 2018 after defeating former Sen. Joe Donnelly …

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.

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 …

ADP private sector November jobs report in and...oh, dear  —  Was it only a month ago that someone was, yet again, stuffing an ice cream cone into his maw and snapping back at a reporter's question? … Video  —  The brakes came on abruptly for the private job market in November.

Biden to honor tribes with Nevada national monument, his biggest yet  —  Tribes, environmentalists and many local officials support protecting nearly 450,000 acres around Spirit Mountain, but some developers warn it could hamper renewable energy projects  —  SEARCHLIGHT, Nevada …

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 …

If Only Someone Could Have Warned Them  —  Why Republicans refused to see the truth about Trump until it was too late.  —  If you were a Republican hoping that Donald Trump would either quietly fade away or become muted and “presidential” in the run-up to 2024, you didn't have much to be grateful for this Thanksgiving.

‘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.

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.

Editor's Note: A Review of Criticisms of a ProPublica-Vanity Fair Story on a COVID Origins Report  —  ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power.  Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they're published.  —  On Oct. 28, ProPublica and Vanity Fair published …

El Faro Journalists, Knight Institute Sue NSO Group Over Spyware  —  Use of malicious software to surveil and intimidate journalists threatens press freedom around the world, lawsuit says  —  SAN JOSE, Calif.-Represented by the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University …

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.

Exclusive: Sam Bankman-Fried says he's down to $100,000 … In an interview, the former FTX CEO pointed to both personal failures and regulatory gaps to help explain the implosion of his company. … “I mean, I have no idea.  I don't know.  I had $100,000 in my bank account last I checked,” he said.