What Jack Smith Says  —  Jack Smith has filed his 404(b) notice, advising the Court and Trump of other crimes and bad acts committed by Trump that he intends to offer as evidence when the D.C. election interference case goes to trial.  The notice is nine pages long, you can read the whole thing here.

Penn loses $100 million donation over antisemitism hearing  —  A wealthy donor to the University of Pennsylvania is withdrawing a gift worth around $100 million in protest of the school's response to antisemitism on campus.  —  The big picture: The final straw for Ross Stevens …

First on CNN: Federal prosecutors file new criminal case against Hunter Biden  —  Federal prosecutors have filed a new criminal case against Hunter Biden, people briefed on the matter said.  —  The exact nature of the charges couldn't immediately be learned because court documents have not been made public.

Sen. Kevin Cramer's son charged with manslaughter  —  Sen. Kevin Cramer's (R-N.D.) son was charged with manslaughter on Thursday after he killed a North Dakota sheriff's deputy in a car wreck Wednesday evening, according to local police.  —  Police said Ian Cramer, 42 …

Ex-police chief who spread Jan. 6 conspiracy theories sentenced to 11 years in Capitol riot case  —  Alan Hostetter, who was found to have carried a hatchet during the Capitol attack, cited Vivek Ramaswamy's suggestion at Wednesday's GOP debate that Jan. 6 was an “inside job.”

Killing of Reuters Journalist Was ‘Apparently Deliberate’ Israeli Strike, Group Says  —  Human Rights Watch found that the slain journalist and six colleagues were not near active fighting in southern Lebanon and would have been clearly visible to Israeli forces.

Hochul condemns man who fired shotgun outside temple on first day of Hanukkah  —  Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) denounced a man who fired a shotgun outside a Jewish temple on the first day of Hanukkah.  —  A 28-year-old man was accused on Thursday of firing a shotgun outside of Temple Israel in Albany …

N.Y. appeals court upholds Judge Engoron's ruling that Trump committed ‘widespread fraud’  —  Former President Donald Trump was dealt a major blow by the New York Court of Appeals on Thursday in the midst of his ongoing civil fraud trial in the Empire State.

Behind the Curtain — Exclusive: How Trump would build his loyalty-first Cabinet  —  Former President Trump, if elected, would build a Cabinet and White House staff based mainly on two imperatives: pre-vetted loyalty to him and a commitment to stretch legal and governance boundaries …

House Freedom Caucus Losing Faith in Speaker Johnson After His ‘Ass Whooping’  —  ‘Right now, it looks pretty bleak,’ Johnson critic Rep. Eric Burlison told The Messenger  —  Speaker Mike Johnson signing off on a defense bill that was scrubbed of hardliners' top ideological priorities …

Why Fundamentalists Love Trump  —  I just finished reading Tim Alberta's masterly new book, “The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism.”  It's a powerful and emotionally resonant account of the transformation in evangelical politics that has brought us …

Kevin McCarthy uses PAC to lavish cash on high-end resorts, private jets and fine dining  —  Rambling above the rust-colored cliffs of the Palos Verdes Peninsula, the Terranea Resort is known for its ocean views, world-ranked spa and villas that can command $3,000 a night or more.

The White House is threatening the patents of high-priced drugs developed with taxpayer dollars  —  The Biden administration is putting pharmaceutical companies on notice, warning them that if the price of certain drugs is too high, the government might cancel their patent protection and allow rivals to make their own versions.

WATCH: Hamas Terrorists Surrender en Masse, and the Photos and Videos Are Telling  —  Hamas terrorists have started to surrender en masse in the area of Khan Younis, one of the terrorist government's last strongholds.  The latest advance has the IDF operating in Southern Gaza …

Las Vegas shooting suspect was a professor who recently applied for a job at UNLV, AP source says  —  Three people were fatally shot and a fourth person was critically wounded in an attack on the University of Nevada, Las Vegas campus, police said.  The suspected shooter also was found dead.

Manning Won't File for Re-Election Under Egregiously Gerrymandered Maps  —  Greensboro, N.C. - Congresswoman Kathy Manning (NC-06) announced today that she will not file for re-election under the egregiously gerrymandered congressional districts, which the Republican-led North Carolina General Assembly passed …

Marking start of Hanukkah, Emhoff condemns antisemitism, says Biden and Harris ‘have your back’  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Speaking at the lighting ceremony of a massive menorah in front of the White House to mark the first night of Hanukkah, Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris …

DeSantis Super PAC Cancels Donor Event Citing Waning Interest  — About 3,000 supporters were invited to attend Alabama event  — Scrapped fundraiser follows Never Back Down leadership changes  —  The super political action committee backing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis' presidential bid canceled …

MAGA rioter punched woman ‘in the throat’ after his sexual advances were denied: Feds  —  Federal prosecutors are arguing that a North Carolina man charged in connection with the January 6 Capitol attack should await trial in jail because he allegedly instigated a bar fight after a woman rejected him …

White Supremacists Are Celebrating Vivek Ramaswamy's ‘Great Replacement’ Rant  —  Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy boosted multiple far-right conspiracy theories during the GOP debate on Wednesday night, in a dangerous mainstreaming of once-fringe claims.

Fetterman says if we want peace, Israel needs to be able to destroy Hamas  —  PITTSBURGH — Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) has emerged as one of the most reliable supporters of the Jewish community in his hometown, which is located a handful of miles from where the deadliest massacre of Jews happened …

RNC Fourth Presidential Primary Debate 12/06/23 Transcript  —  RNC Fourth Presidential Primary Debate 12/06/23.  Read the transcript here.  —  Transcribe Your Own Content  —  Welcome to the fourth and final Republican Presidential Primary Debate of the Year live from the University of Alabama.

California's Fiscal Outlook  — California Entered a Downturn Last Year  — Appendix 1: Outlook for School and Community College Funding  —  Executive Summary  —  California Faces a $68 Billion Deficit.  Largely as a result of a severe revenue decline in 2022‑23, the state faces a serious budget deficit.