Moderna's coronavirus vaccine found to be nearly 95 percent effective in a preliminary analysis  —  The United States could have two coronavirus vaccines available on a limited basis by year's end  —  Biotechnology firm Moderna announced Monday that a preliminary analysis shows …

Trump campaign jettisons major parts of its legal challenge against Pennsylvania's election results  —  President Trump's campaign on Sunday scrapped a major part of its federal lawsuit challenging the election results in Pennsylvania.  —  Trump's attorneys filed a revised version of the lawsuit …

The President vs. the American Media  —  After terrorist attacks, France's leader accuses the English-language media of “legitimizing this violence.”  —  The president has some bones to pick with the American media: about our “bias,” our obsession with racism, our views on terrorism …

Why Obama Fears for Our Democracy  —  Barack Obama was describing to me the manner in which the Mongol emperor and war-crimes innovator Genghis Khan would besiege a town.  “They gave you two choices,” he said.  “'If you open the gates, we'll just kill you quickly and take your women and enslave …

Trump, Trying to Cling to Power, Fans Unrest and Conspiracies  —  The president's refusal to concede has entered a more dangerous phase as he blocks his successor's transition, withholding intelligence briefings, pandemic information and access to the government.

House leaders urge Democrats not to join team Biden to maintain majority  —  Confronted with a shrunken majority, House leaders are discouraging fellow Democrats from taking jobs with the incoming Biden administration — out of concern that Republicans could take back the chamber …

Trump coronavirus adviser Scott Atlas urges Michigan to ‘rise up’ against new Covid-19 measures  —  Washington (CNN)White House coronavirus task force member Dr. Scott Atlas criticized Michigan's new Covid-19 restrictions in a tweet shortly after they were announced Sunday evening …

Barack Obama on his book, President Trump, George Floyd, the divisions in the country, and more  —  The former president shares the advice he would give President Trump, his thoughts on the killing of George Floyd, and what's behind the divisions in Washington and across the U.S.

Newsmax CEO: ‘We Are Not Actively Selling,’ Have No Desire to Be ‘Trump TV’ … Newsmax may be focused on conservative audiences, but it has very liberal views of where its business can go in the future as an independent news operation.  —  The top executive of the news outlet …

Biden's IRS could finally give Trump's tax returns to Democrats  —  President Donald Trump's defeat will make it a lot easier for Democrats to finally get his tax returns, and some prominent lawmakers plan to keep the heat on the incoming Biden administration and House leaders to deliver.

Scoop: Trump plans last-minute China crackdown  —  President Trump will enact a series of hardline policies during his final 10 weeks to cement his legacy on China, senior administration officials with direct knowledge of the plans tells Axios.  —  Why it matters: He'll try …

Meet Rebekah Mercer, the deep-pocketed co-founder of Parler, a controversial conservative social network  —  New York (CNN Business)Rebekah Mercer, a prominent conservative donor, revealed Saturday that she is helping to bankroll Parler, the rapidly growing but controversial conservative social media platform …

Will Trump Burn the Evidence?  —  How the President could endanger the official records of one of the most consequential periods in American history.  —  Donald Trump is not much of a note-taker, and he does not like his staff to take notes.  He has a habit of tearing up documents at the close of meetings.

A less-racist brand of Trump populism could bring a GOP dynasty unless Dems do something  —  When the first election returns started coming in from Texas' Zapata County — a hot, dusty corner of the Rio Grande Valley with oil rigs and a large Latine population — some online voting-fraud …

With pandemic raging, Republicans say election results validate their approach  —  On coronavirus maps, her northeastern Wisconsin county was glowing bright red.  Kristin Lyerly decided this was the moment to turn it politically blue.  —  The 50-year-old doctor had jumped into the race …

Judges appear increasingly frustrated with Trump's legal claims about 2020 election  —  “Come on now,” one judge said after hearing a Trump team claim.  —  Trump speaks publicly for 1st time in days as Biden eyes transition  —  President-elect Joe Biden is projected to win in Georgia …

The Macron Doctrine  —  A Conversation with the French President  —  As the year 2020 draws to a close, with crises accumulating in France and Europe, the French President, in one of his longest interviews, outlined the main elements of his new doctrine on international affairs with le Grand Continent.

The ending of Trump's presidency echoes the beginning — with a lie  —  The Debrief: An occasional series offering a reporter's insights  —  The Trump administration is ending as it began: with a lie about crowd size.  —  On Saturday, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany tweeted …

The Ongoing Death of Free Speech: Prominent ACLU Lawyer Cheers Suppression of a New Book  —  Free speech has always been more than a Constitutional guarantee: it's also a crucial societal value.  And it's more imperiled than ever.  —  5 hr ago  —  In May of 2019, a source in Brazil provided …

Behind Trump's Yearslong Effort to Turn Losing Into Winning  —  Even before he was elected in 2016, Donald J. Trump was building a conspiracy theory about voter fraud that took on new energy this year, as his political fortunes ebbed during the coronavirus pandemic.

Georgia Sen. David Perdue declines to debate opponent ahead of January 5 runoff  —  (CNN)Georgia Republican Sen. David Perdue has declined an invitation to debate Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff ahead of the January runoff election for his seat, CNN has learned.

The Treehouse is Deplatformed...  Most CTH readers are likely aware of the term “deplatforming.”  Unfortunately, the big tech control mechanism to shut down speech & assembly has now arrived on our doorstep.  —  One week after the 2020 presidential election, The Conservative Treehouse received the following notification: