Biden shrinks from view ahead of Trump's return to Washington  —  With 42 days left in office, Biden avoids unscripted moments or press questions.  —  Joe Biden is president of the United States for 42 more days.  But within the Democratic Party, on Capitol Hill — and even within his own administration …

Lara Trump steps down as RNC co-chair and addresses speculation about Florida Senate seat  —  Lara Trump will step down as co-chair of the Republican National Committee as she considers a number of potential options with her father-in-law, President-elect Donald Trump, set to return to the White House.

Transcript: Trump's Private Rage at “Traitors” Reveals Dark 2025 Plans  —  The following is a lightly edited transcript of the December 9 episode of the  —  Daily Blast podcast.  Listen to it here.  —  Greg Sargent: This is The Daily Blast from The New Republic, produced and presented by the DSR network.

Daniel Penny acquitted in subway chokehold death of Jordan Neely  —  A Manhattan jury has cleared Daniel Penny of criminal wrongdoing in the chokehold death of Jordan Neely on a crowded subway — a caught-on-video killing that sparked fierce debate over the city's mental health system and crime underground.

More in U.S. See Health Coverage as Government Responsibility  —  Approval of Affordable Care Act also near high point  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Sixty-two percent of U.S. adults, the highest percentage in more than a decade, say it is the federal government's responsibility to ensure all Americans have healthcare coverage.

Here's what to know about the manhunt.  —  A man is being held for questioning in connection with last week's killing of a health insurance executive in Midtown Manhattan, according to three law enforcement officials briefed on the investigation.  —  The man was identified based on a tip …

Supreme Court refuses to hear Boston parents' challenge to racial discrimination in public school admissions  —  Washington, DC; December 9, 2024: Today, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear the case Boston Parent Coalition for Academic Excellence v. School Committee …

What we don't talk about when we talk about the “working class”  —  Since Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris, pundits and politicians have been trying to figure out why the country's working class is moving to the right.  —  “Donald Trump Won as the Champion of Working-Class Discontent,” read one headline.

Meet the Trump Nominees Selling Vitamins on the Side  —  Supplement makers are cheering a warmer welcome in Washington; ‘The industry is getting excited’  —  President-elect Donald Trump's top political appointees want you to buy supplements.  —  Dr. Janette Nesheiwat, Trump's pick for surgeon general …

Supreme Court rejects case pitting the ‘spirit of Aloha’ against gun owners' rights  —  The case included a swipe by a Hawaii judge at the Supreme Court's embrace of gun rights.  “The thing about the old days, they the old days,” the judge said, quoting HBO's “The Wire.”

The J. Edgar Hoover precedent for weaponizing the FBI  —  “Yes, we could have a repeat of that,” Frank Figliuzzi tells us.  —  ∙ Paid … 🕵️  —  After serving in the FBI for more than two decades, in 2011 Frank Figliuzzi replaced a guy named Robert Mueller …

Manchin, Welch unveil bill placing term limits on Supreme Court  —  West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin (I) and Vermont Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) have introduced a resolution to impose 18-year term limits on Supreme Court justices, which would require some turnover on the high court every two years.

Trump has a new family separation problem  —  Trump's mass deportation policy could lead to massive family separations, and he and allies don't seem to have an answer.  —  If there's a problem that epitomizes the arduousness — and likely the impracticality — of President-elect Donald …

Putin's Syria Setback Threatens Key Russian Military Bases  — Bases key to Kremlin's effort to rebuild Cold War influence  — Moscow says it will seek talks on bases with new Syria leaders  —  The fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria represents a personal defeat for Russian President Vladimir Putin …

South Korea Bars President From Traveling Abroad  —  President Yoon Suk Yeol cannot leave the country as an investigation unfolds into whether he led an insurrection last week when he briefly imposed martial law.  —  South Korea's political dysfunction deepened Monday as its Ministry …

At the Kennedy Center, a Send-Off to Biden and Questions About the Future  —  A bipartisan crowd honored Francis Ford Coppola, the Grateful Dead, Bonnie Raitt, Arturo Sandoval and the Apollo Theater.  Some wondered if Donald J. Trump would attend next year.