Trump Found Crucial Support in Congress as He Fought to Stay in Power  —  A small circle of Republican lawmakers, working closely with President Donald J. Trump's chief of staff, took on an outsize role in pressuring the Justice Department, amplifying conspiracy theories and flooding the courts …

Sinema pops Democrats' filibuster trial balloon on voting rights  —  Kyrsten Sinema supports the elections reform bill that Democrats are considering a year-end push to pass.  She doesn't support a shortcut around the filibuster to get it done.  —  The Arizona moderate is making clear …

Role as Trump's gatekeeper puts Meadows in legal jeopardy — and at odds with Trump  —  From his time as chief of staff for Donald Trump, Mark Meadows has provided a gold mine of information to the House committee investigating the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection: urgent texts from the president's son …

Donald Trump's Megaphone  —  Fox News news hosts knew that Trump's lies were lies—and they amplified them anyhow.  —  Screw it.  —  I've shown a good deal of restraint since news broke that I left Fox News.  —  I haven't done any TV about it, and I've let a lot of nonsense go by without a response.

Omicron Is About to Overwhelm Us … For all their limitations, the models right now are flashing bright red.  Over the course of the pandemic, again and again, projections based on simplistic extrapolations of current trends have missed the mark when the trajectories turned.

JFK Assassination Records - 2021 Additional Documents Release  —  Have a question about JFK Assassination Records?  —  Ask it on HistoryHub!  —  The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is processing previously withheld John F. Kennedy assassination-related records to comply …

Two major airline CEOs question the need for masks on planes  —  New York (CNN Business)The CEOs of two of the nation's major airlines say they don't think wearing masks on planes does much to help limit exposure to Covid.  —  The comments from American Airlines (AAL) CEO Doug Parker …

Historic wind storm slamming central U.S. with rare tornado threat in the north  —  Minnesota and northern Iowa could see their first December tornadoes on record; winds are expected to gust over 60 mph in Denver, Omaha and Des Moines.  —  Half of the Lower 48 faces a dangerous weather event Wednesday …

Expand the Supreme Court  —  I don't come to this conclusion lightly or because I disagree with a particular decision; I come to this conclusion because I believe the current court threatens the democratic foundations of our nation.  —  This month, a majority of justices …

Americans can soon renew passports online, thanks to Biden order  —  The order also includes new technologies to speed up airport security  —  President Biden signed an executive order Monday to allow Americans to renew their passports online, eliminating the need for physical documents and paper checks to be sent through the mail.

Democrat Jeff Jackson expected to drop out of U.S. Senate race  —  A leading Democrat vying for North Carolina's soon-to-be-open U.S. Senate seat plans to leave the race, people familiar with the matter told WRAL Thursday.  —  Sen. Jeff Jackson, D-Mecklenburg, was expected to announce …

Scoop: Perdue rejected GOP appeals to skip governor race  —  A majority of Georgia's Republican state senators quietly sent former Sen. David Perdue a letter last month asking him not to run for governor, Axios has learned.  Weeks later, Perdue forged ahead and announced his primary challenge to incumbent Gov. Brian Kemp.

The Nobel Peace Prize That Paved the Way for War  —  This is the story behind how Ethiopia's prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, won a Nobel Prize for making peace with his country's longtime enemy — and then used the alliance to plan a war.  —  NAIROBI, Kenya — Secret meetings with a dictator.

Retailers say thefts are at crisis level.  The numbers say otherwise  —  Organized retail crime is haunting the nation this holiday season.  —  Captured on smartphones and closed-circuit cameras, thefts involving groups of people smashing windows or individuals wheeling loaded shopping …

Scoop: Biden to stop holding undocumented families in detention centers  —  The Biden administration is ending the practice of holding undocumented migrant families in detention centers, turning to remote tracking technology such as ankle bracelets as alternatives.

Does Punchbowl News Play by the Rules?  —  Where hosting a confab for lobbyists meets journalistic ethics  —  On Sunday afternoon, the Washington Football Team lost to the Dallas Cowboys, and Punchbowl News was there to see it.  The D.C.-based scoop shop, a newsletter-based online publication …

Russian Politician Calls for Kidnapping of U.S. Congressman on Live TV  —  “This is how we should be dealing with these bastards,” the Russian lawmaker said after advocating for the abduction of Rep. Ruben Gallego over his recent comments on Ukraine.  —  With tensions between the United States …

Leaving Gracie Mansion, Mayor de Blasio looks ahead  —  NEW YORK - Bill de Blasio stood on the front porch of historic Gracie Mansion a few nights ago, surveying a magnificent panorama of the East River, Triborough Bridge and towering skyscrapers before him.

Agency overseeing Trump's D.C. hotel lease failed to examine ethical, constitutional conflicts, report says  —  WASHINGTON — The federal agency managing the government's lease of the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C., failed to examine ethical conflicts and constitutional issues posed …

Robert Downey Jr.: Here's how to accelerate discoveries to help the planet  —  If there were a Nobel Prize for Overcoming Bureaucratic Adversity, do you know who would win it?  Katalin Karikó.  Her story of enduring decades of little to no support for her research into the properties of mRNA …

The military-intelligence veterans who helped lead Trump's campaign of disinformation  —  After Donald Trump lost the White House, ex-National Security Advisor Michael Flynn and three other current and former U.S. Army officers challenged the vote's legitimacy and pushed baseless conspiracy claims.

Biden picks Caroline Kennedy, Michelle Kwan for ambassador roles  —  President Biden will nominate Caroline Kennedy and former figure skater Michelle Kwan to ambassadorships as part of a slate of diplomatic picks, the White House announced Wednesday.  —  Biden announced his intent to nominate Kennedy …

‘The Five’ blasts Swalwell, Frum for ‘despicable’ new COVID restriction ideas for unvaccinated Americans  —  Former George W. Bush speechwriter David Frum suggested relegating unvaccinated hospital patients to the back of the line  —  Eric Swalwell, David Frum float ‘despicable’ new coronavirus vaccine mandates

Biden's Twitter doc army turns on him  —  Presented by the Black Women's Health Imperative  —  Welcome to POLITICO's West Wing Playbook, your guide to the people and power centers in the Biden administration.  With Allie Bice.  —  As the Biden administration has worked to confront …