Russia is behind the broad, ongoing cyber spy campaign against the U.S. government and private sector, Pompeo says  —  Russia is behind the massive, ongoing cyber spy campaign against the federal government and private sector, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Friday …

Even as Trump vows to keep fighting, his aides are quietly starting to move on  —  Vice President Pence has begun looking for a new home in the Washington suburbs, and he's planning a valedictory foreign trip to begin the day Congress counts the electoral college votes.

U.K. Imposes Harsher Lockdown on London, Citing New Version of Virus  —  Scientists in Britain say the new variant is spreading faster than previous ones, but does not appear to make people sicker.  —  LONDON — Alarmed by a what he called a faster-spreading variant of the coronavirus …

US plans to shutter remaining consulates in Russia  —  (CNN)The Trump administration has informed lawmakers of its plan to shutter its two remaining consulates in Russia.  —  In a notification dated December 10, the US State Department told Congress it intends to close the consulate …

BUSTED?  Why the numbers behind Mitch McConnell's re-election don't add up  —  On a Thursday in August in Louisville, months before the 2020 election, a parade of cars filled with Kentucky Teamster representatives and labor groups, showed their fury at Mitch McConnell's constant blocking of critical COVID aid.

EXCLUSIVE: Lawmakers ask FBI and Federal Election Commission to investigate Jared Kushner-backed Trump campaign company after Insider's reporting … - Two lawmakers demanded that the FBI and the Federal Election Commission open an investigation into whether the Trump campaign violated federal law …

Lou Dobbs Airs Stunning Fact-Check of His Own Election Conspiracies After Company Threatens Legal Action  —  Fox Business host Lou Dobbs has recently taken to raising questions about voting machine companies, which have been cast as complicit in the supposed grand conspiracy to steal the 2020 election from President Donald Trump.

Minn. Sen. Jerry Relph dies of COVID-19 complications  —  Brian Bakst and Kirsti MarohnSt.  —  Jerry Relph, a first-term state senator from St. Cloud, died Friday of complications of COVID-19, his family and the Senate majority leader confirmed.  —  “Jerry dedicated his life to service …

Analysis: For Republicans, profanity is suddenly scandalous  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The definition of a scandal changes quickly in Washington.  —  Over the course of four years, the nation's capital has careened from crisis to crisis.  There was the travel ban, the investigation …

Turnout in Georgia US Senate runoff approaches presidential levels  —  Almost as many Georgians have voted in the U.S. Senate runoffs as at the same point before the presidential election, a huge turnout that reflects the high stakes of the race.  —  Over 1.1 million people had voted through Thursday …

No ‘Negative’ News: How China Censored the Coronavirus  —  Thousands of internal directives and reports reveal how Chinese officials stage-managed what appeared online in the early days of the outbreak.  —  阅读.体中 文.閱讀.體 中文.

From A Very Stable Genius to After Trump: 2020 in US politics books … A long time ago, in 1883, a future president (Woodrow Wilson, a subject of this year's reckonings) studied political science at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, in a classroom in which was inscribed the slogan …

FDA Takes Additional Action in Fight Against COVID-19 By Issuing Emergency Use Authorization for Second COVID-19 Vaccine  —  Action Follows Thorough Evaluation of Available Safety, Effectiveness, and Manufacturing Quality Information by FDA Career Scientists, Input from Independent Experts

Congress in frantic race to strike stimulus deal  —  Congressional leaders on Saturday morning were still scrambling to clinch a coronavirus relief deal, just two days before lawmakers face the threat of yet another shutdown.  —  Both chambers now plan to hold a rare weekend session days before Christmas …

No, This Pandemic Is Not Over.  Please Don't Act Like It Is.  —  The other night, I made my stepmother cry.  I've never done that before, but this time I felt as if I had to.  My brother had told me about my father and stepmother's holiday plan, which included staying with relatives …

Remarks by Vice President Pence at the Space Force's 1st Birthday Celebration  —  THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you all for being here today.  To Acting Secretary of Defense Chris Miller, to the Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett, to General John Hyten, General Jay Raymond …

In Last Rush, Trump Grants Mining and Energy Firms Access to Public Lands  —  The outgoing administration is pushing through approval of corporate projects over the opposition of environmental groups and tribal communities.  —  WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is rushing to approve …

Row explodes between Pentagon, Biden transition team  —  WASHINGTON — The U.S. acting defense secretary has canceled planned meetings between Defense Department officials and the Biden transition team.  —  It's a move the department is categorizing as a temporary delay rather than a wholesale blockade of the incoming administration.

‘He called me kiddo’: Jill Biden says Wall Street Journal essay was ‘such a surprise’  —  Surprised the Wall Street Journal ran an op-ed attacking Jill Biden's preference to use the title “Dr.”?  So was Jill Biden.  —  On Thursday's episode of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” …

8 Catholic Sisters Die of Covid-19 Within a Week at a Wisconsin Home  —  They were educators, music teachers and liturgists, living out their remaining years in a retirement residence after lifetimes of service.  —  They were educators, music teachers and community activists who served tirelessly for those living in poverty.

All the Republican rats … - Tom Toles recently retired.  See his archive of editorial cartoons.  —  Global Opinions  —  Mexico City's mayor has put politics ahead of public health, with deadly consequences  — By León Krauze-