
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday rejected a lawsuit brought by the state of Texas that sought to overturn the results of the presidential election by invalidating millions of votes in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan and Wisconsin. The lawsuit, which was joined by 17 states President Trump won in 2020, asked the court to allow the legislatures in the battleground states where the Trump campaign is contesting results to appoint new electors. In a decision issued Friday evening, the court denied the complaint for “lack of standing,” meaning Texas did not succeed in showing that it has a vested interest in the manner in which other states conduct elections.

Sen. Mike Lee blocked two proposals that would establish new Smithsonian museums for American Latino and women's history. Both bipartisan bills passed the House of Representatives earlier this year, but the Republican senator said Americans didn't need "separate but equal" museums. Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez and GOP Sen. Susan Collins both pushed back against Lee during a dramatic Senate session on Thursday.

Top Lebanese politicians and the militant Hezbollah group rallied on Friday against charges of negligence levelled against the caretaker prime minister and three former ministers over the massive explosion in Beirut's port, underscoring the enormous difficulties facing the investigation. Hezbollah called on investigating judge Fadi Sawwan to reconsider the charges, calling them “political targeting” and saying they lacked legal and constitutional basis. Similar criticism was voiced by Prime Minister-designate Saad Hariri, who visited the accused caretaker Premier Hassan Diab — a political foe — in a gesture of solidarity.

Tasked with a California family's historic getaway on Patmos, John Stefanidis gives the once-neutral house a vibrant polychrome presence Originally Appeared on Architectural Digest

TALLAHASSEE – Gov. Ron DeSantis lashed out Friday at a former Florida data scientist turned whistleblower whose home was raided by a state law enforcement team wielding a sledgehammer earlier this week. Just because you're a darling of some corners of the fever swamps, that does not exempt you from following the law,” DeSantis said during an appearance in Tampa. The video of law enforcement's arrival at the Tallahassee home of Rebekah Jones has gone viral and the former health department data scientist has denied allegations that she accessed a state emergency alert system to urge former co-workers to speak out about the DeSantis administration's handling of the coronavirus.

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) played a big advocacy role in President-elect Joe Biden's 2020 bid, no doubt helping him lock up the typically red state of Georgia. Bottoms was expected to be offered a White House role in return, perhaps as the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development or the head of the Small Business Administration, or even Biden's vice president. After the naming of Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) as Biden's running mate over the summer, and after Biden slotted Rep. Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) into the HUD spot, Bottoms' choices seemed to be slimming.

of voters think Trump will be viewed as one of the worst presidents ever, according to a new Fox News poll. The majority of voters hold an unfavorable view of Trump and disapprove of how he has handled major political issues during his presidency. There are major partisan divides surrounding questions of the legitimacy of the 2020 Election.

It took 51 years and a team of experts from three countries to crack the code to a cipher left by the still unidentified Zodiac Killer, who haunted northern California communities in the 1960s and 70s. “I hope you are having lots of fun in trying to catch me,” the message, sent to the San Francisco Chronicle in November 1969 in a series of symbols, reads. The FBI confirmed that the news of the cracked code is the real deal, but said it does little to help investigators in the decades-long search for the serial killer.

A Miami Beach woman is accused of speeding though the Florida Keys and flipping her middle fingers at a pursuing Monroe County Sheriff's Office deputy along the way. Christine Eliza Dayoub, 36, faces multiple felony charges in the incident in which deputies say she reached speeds of up to 120 mph as she crossed the iconic Seven Mile Bridge Thursday night in a Mercedes-Benz. It began around 7:40 p.m. when she passed a deputy in his patrol car heading south on U.S. 1 in the Middle Keys city of Marathon, according to the sheriff's office.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is one of four candidates being considered for attorney general in President-elect Joe Biden's administration, a source told the Associated Press on Friday. The other three contenders include former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, outgoing Alabama Sen. Doug Jones, and Judge Merrick Garland. Cuomo has previously said he has "no interest in going to Washington" despite having previously served as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under then-President Bill Clinton from 1997 to 2001.

An investigation into President Trump being conducted by Manhattan prosecutors is reportedly "significantly escalating." The office of Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. has "stepped up its efforts" to investigate Trump's business conduct, in recent weeks "significantly escalating" the probe by interviewing employees of lender Deutsche Bank and insurance broker Aon, The New York Times reported on Friday. The prosecutors have reportedly issued new subpoenas and questioned witnesses before a grand jury for investigative purposes.

A tip from a concerned citizen provided a pivotal break Friday in the Dec. 3 slaying of 26-year-old nurse Caitlyn Kaufman, who worked in the intensive care unit at Saint Thomas West Hospital. At dawn, members of Metro Nashville Police Department's SWAT team descended on an East Nashville apartment complex and made an arrest in the fatal shooting of a Nashville nurse who was driving to work when police say someone opened fire on her SUV. Devaunte Lewis Hill, 21, was taken into custody at 6:15 a.m. in Kaufman's death.

The Republican Party of Texas decried the US Supreme Court decision to reject a bid by some states to overturn the results of the presidential election. The case, which was brought by Texas and joined by other Republican-led states, sought to overturn the results in four states won by President-elect Joe Biden. "Perhaps law-abiding states should bond together and form a Union of states that will abide by the constitution," Allen West, the Texas GOP chairman, said.

Los Angeles county last week passed the disturbing milestone of 10,000 new Covid-19 cases a day, and officials there fear a spike in infections resulting from the Thanksgiving holiday could send hospitalizations surging further. LA officials said that one person is now dying of Covid every 20 minutes, and the county's public health director, Barbara Ferrer, broke down crying at a briefing while talking about the “incalculable loss” of more than 8,000 deaths. San Francisco has seen its average case rate soar from 15 to 30 per 100,000 residents since the holiday.

Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger on Friday criticized the Texas GOP for floating the idea of secession after the Supreme Court rejected a bid to overturn the results of the presidential election. In a statement, the Texas GOP chairman suggested that "law-abiding states should bond together and form a Union of states that will abide by the constitution." Republican Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois said the statement should be immediately retracted and the people involved fired.

As holiday gifts and packages pile up, some might be looking for ways to show appreciation for the people who delivered them. You might want to think twice before you pull out a cash tip, however. The U.S. Postal Service prohibits all employees — including mail carriers — from accepting cash or cash equivalents of any kind.

Gordon Ramsay and Gigi Hadid share a mutual love of cooking. In a live cooking event on Saturday, December 12, at 12 p.m. EST, Ramsay will pay homage to a spicy pasta and shrimp dish he said Hadid sent him recently. The "MasterChef" judge will also make a "glamorous" banana bread pancake cereal with warm, vanilla-infused milk.
Nearly 2,000 containers aboard the ship managed by NYK Ship management of Japan were lost or damaged when it was hit by stormy weather in the Pacific Ocean, according the company's statement earlier this week. Dramatic footage shot by a YouTuber and obtained by Reuters showed ONE Apus carrying collapsed containers and docking at Kobe, one of the world's busies port cities. ONE Apus, owned by Chidori Ship Holdings, was travelling from Yantian in China to Long Beach, California, when it hit a violent storm about 1,600 nautical miles (2,960 kilometres) northwest of Hawaii, a statement issued on behalf of the companies said.

Some Republican senators are using their unfounded election fraud claims as an excuse to muddy President-elect Joe Biden's transition. Biden has spent the past few weeks since the election filling out his Cabinet, hoping quick confirmations will help him get a quick start on reversing President Trump's policies. But "as long as there's litigation ongoing, and the election result is disputed, I do not think you will see the Senate act to confirm any nominee," Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) told Axios.
Democrat Michigan State Rep. Cynthia Johnson was stripped of her committee seats by senior GOP state officials after warning Trump supporters to 'walk lightly': Laura Ingle reports.

"Since Election Night, a lot of people have been confusing voters by spinning Kenyan Birther-type, 'Chavez rigged the election from the grave' conspiracy theories," Sen. Ben Sasse said. Sasse's support for the Supreme Court's decision makes him one of the few Republicans to speak out so far. Republican Sen. Ben Sasse, of Nebraska, released a statement Friday which was highly supportive of the Supreme Court's decision to throw out the Texas Attorney General's baseless lawsuit attempting to overturn election results in favor of President Donald Trump.

Former members of the celebrity megachurch Hillsong recently came forward to Insider with multiple accusations of racism, anti-LGBTQ behavior, and exploitation after pastor Carl Lentz was fired for infidelity last month. After celebrity pastor of Hillsong NYC Carl Lentz was fired for cheating on his wife in November, sources told Insider that the issues at Hillsong run much deeper than one affair. Several former volunteers said top pastors regularly took advantage of free and underpaid labor, and in some cases paid little or no money for volunteers to babysit their children.

A couple wearing protective masks take a selfie with the Rockefeller Christmas Tree in the background on Dec. 6, 2020 in New York City. With the U.S. setting a new, devastating record of more than 3,000 people dead from COVID-19 in a single day this week, American women say they're planning on social distancing this holiday season. One in four Americans has plans to travel for Christmas, and one in five is traveling for New Year's—choices that in this horrific year have the potential to exacerbate an outbreak already spreading out of control in much of the country.

Not a single GOP senator signed a “friend of the court” brief for the long-shot Texas lawsuit to throw out other states' results in a bid to keep President Donald Trump in power. And there was no coordinated effort to get Republicans on board, according to interviews with more than a half-dozen Republican senators before the Supreme Court rejected the case Friday night. Are they rolling one around here?

A Texas state lawmaker announced this week that he plans to propose a referendum aimed at seceding from the United States. "The federal government is out of control and does not represent the values of Texans," Rep. Kyle Biedermann, a Republican, said. State Republicans and Democrats have already criticized the proposal.


“The prospect of a 2024 run is politically significant. It’s also a complete fiction.”
“His flirtation with a 2024 bid ensures he’ll remain the dominant force in the Republican Party.”
“He shouldn’t run for president again. There’s a better job and life for him on the horizon.”
“Trump is in for years of scandals and humiliations…He’ll have to devote much of his energy to trying to stay out of prison.”
“If Trump himself passes on the opportunity, his two very political children could also potentially pick up the mantle.”