Christopher Wray Says He'll Step Down as F.B.I. Director  —  The F.B.I. director, Christopher A. Wray, told bureau employees on Wednesday that he intended in January, bowing to the reality that President-elect Donald J. Trump had publicly declared his desire to replace him.

U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace Calls Police on Prominent Foster Youth Advocate; Eyewitnesses Dispute Her Assault Allegations  —  Stunned onlookers say the disturbing turn of events followed a routine celebration of a landmark child welfare law  —  This breaking news story will be updated as more information becomes available.

Manchin, Sinema block Democratic control of NLRB  —  The Senate on Wednesday blocked Lauren McFerran's re-nomination to the National Labor Relations Board, opening the door for Republican control of the board starting next year under President-elect Trump.  —  Senators voted 49 to 50 …

Mitch McConnell: 'We're in a very, very dangerous world right now'  —  The Republican Senator on his plans to spend the last two years of his term fighting back against an increasingly isolationist GOP  —  Mitch McConnell is standing in his office smiling.  Hanging on the walls are faces, mostly stern, from Washington's past.

House GOP Uses Must-Pass Defense Bill To Strip Care From Military Families' Trans Kids  —  A provision tucked into the National Defense Authorization Act forces parents in the military to weigh their careers against providing health care for loved ones.  —  LOADING

CNN Poll: Most Americans approve how Trump is handling his return to the White House  —  Most Americans expect President-elect Donald Trump to do a good job upon his return to the White House next month (54%) and a majority approves of how he's handling the presidential transition so far …

Luigi Mangione's Full Story Isn't Online  —  When the identity of Luigi Mangione, the alleged UnitedHealthcare CEO shooter, was revealed on Monday, the online search — a reporting process that's become a collective online ritual — began.  It turns out he left a lot of information online …

Time magazine to name Trump ‘Person of the Year’  —  He also won the honor in 2016.  —  Donald Trump is expected to be named Time magazine's “Person of the Year” — and to celebrate the unveiling of the cover, the president-elect will ring the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday morning …

Trump plans to scrap policy restricting ICE arrests at churches, schools, hospitals  —  The long-standing policy has prevented ICE agents from arresting immigrants at so-called “sensitive locations” except under certain circumstances.  —  The incoming Trump administration intends to rescind …

‘This Is A Warning’: Warren, Sanders Address Sympathy For UnitedHealthcare CEO Killing  —  The progressive senators condemned the assassination of UnitedHealthcare's CEO Brian Thompson, calling it outrageous and denouncing violence.  —  LOADING  —  WASHINGTON — Two of the biggest critics …

Trump outran the law.  His allies haven't.  —  Dozens of Trump allies face criminal charges in lingering cases over efforts to overturn the 2020 election.  —  Despite Donald Trump's Houdini act, the criminal cases against his allies are not disappearing.  —  Dozens of Trump's top aides …

Federal judge blocks largest supermarket merger in history  —  New York CNN —  A federal judge in Oregon blocked Kroger's proposed $25 billion tie-up with Albertsons, ruling that the largest merger in US supermarket history would limit competition and harm consumers.

The Fraudulence of “Waste, Fraud and Abuse”  —  History repeats itself, the first time as farce, the second as clown show  —  First things first: welcome to readers new and old.  Now that I have written my last column for the New York Times, this newsletter is coming out of dormancy.

Recent Immigration Surge Has Been Largest in U.S. History  —  Under President Biden, more than two million immigrants per year have entered, government data shows.  —  The immigration surge of the past few years has been the largest in U.S. history, surpassing the great immigration boom …

Exclusive: RFK Jr.'s secret push to prove CIA killed uncle … - RFK Jr. has been telling people that Fox Kennedy — his presidential campaign manager, who is married to his son Bobby Kennedy III — would help get to the bottom of the JFK assassination, two Republican sources told Axios.

Collins Grills Hegseth but Remains Undecided on His Bid for Defense Secretary  —  Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine, said she questioned President-elect Donald J. Trump's pick to lead the Pentagon on the misconduct allegations against him and other topics.

How a Decades-Old Loophole Lets Billionaires Avoid Medicare Taxes  —  Some of Wall Street's richest and most powerful figures are using a legal loophole to avoid paying millions of dollars in taxes earmarked for health care, a ProPublica investigation found.  —  The Secret IRS Files: Inside the Tax Records of the .001%

Judge tosses Michael Flynn's $50 million lawsuit that claimed he was prosecuted to ‘derail and discredit’ Trump's 2020 presidential bid  —  A federal judge in Florida has dismissed a $50 million lawsuit filed by former U.S. National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, who sued the federal government …

Judge rejects sale of Alex Jones' Infowars to The Onion in dispute over bankruptcy auction  —  A federal judge on Tuesday night rejected the auction sale of Alex Jones' Infowars to The Onion satirical news outlet, criticizing the bidding process as flawed and the amount of money that families …

About one in three U.S. women are accessing family planning services: CDC  —  About 35 percent of U.S. women ages 15 to 49 said they received a family planning service between 2022 to 2023, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics.

Former top Biden aide slams Hunter Biden pardon rollout strategy  —  One of President Joe Biden's former top communications advisers ravaged the president's messaging rollout strategy around his decision to pardon his son, Hunter Biden, lambasting the situation as “exceptionally poor timing” in a major public rebuke of her former boss.

Transcript: Trump Lawyer Alina Habba Gives Away His Border Scam on Fox  —  The following is a lightly edited transcript of the December 11 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.

Schumer says Senate will vote on Social Security changes  —  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday that he's “doing everything” he can to try to pass legislation that would enact some Social Security before Congress ushers in a new class next month.

Bipartisan lawmakers want to force health insurers, PBMs to sell off pharmacies  —  A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced legislation that would force the breakup of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), the drug industry middlemen that have come under increasing scrutiny by lawmakers and regulators.

Elon Musk's Net Worth Tops $400 Billion, a Historic First  — Musk's fortune has increased by 66% since Trump's victory  — His SpaceX startup is valued at $350 billion in share sale  —  Elon Musk has become the first person to reach $400 billion in net worth, the latest milestone for the world's richest individual.

Republican lawmakers invite a Jan. 6 felon to Trump's inauguration  —  The invitation to and praise for a member of the mob underscores the shifting power dynamic in Washington.  —  Russell Taylor spent weeks planning for chaos on Jan. 6, 2021.  He recruited anti-government activists to join …

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