Shkreli, CEO Reviled for Drug Price Gouging, Arrested on Securities Fraud Charges  —  32-year-old suspected of plundering Retrophin to pay debts

Criminal Charges to Be Brought Against Enrique Marquez, Ex-Neighbor of San Bernardino Shooters  —  Federal prosecutors have decided to bring criminal charges against the friend and former neighbor of one of the San Bernardino shooters.  —  Several federal law enforcement officials tell NBC News …

Paul Ryan Betrays America: $1.1 Trillion, 2,000-Plus Page Omnibus Bill Funds ‘Fundamental Transformation of America’  —  Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI)'s first major legislative achievement is a total and complete sell-out of the American people masquerading as an appropriations bill.  —  Too harsh, you say?

Putin praises Trump: He's a really brilliant and talented person  —  Russian President Vladimir Putin had kind words for his “stablemate” Donald Trump during an annual end-of-the-year Q-and-A session in Moscow.  —  “He's a really brilliant and talented person, without any doubt,” …

Lessons From the Mistrial in the Freddie Gray Case … The trial of officers charged with killing Freddie Gray has moved quickly all along: The prosecutor brought charges with nearly unprecedented speed, within two weeks of Gray's death.  And now the first trial has ended just as quickly …

Millionaire Cleared of Rape Charge After Claiming He Tripped and His Penis Fell Into Teen  —  That's not how these things work.  —  37.8k  —  32.7k  —  5k  —  Pin It  —  Ehsan Abdulaziz, a Saudi millionaire property developer, was cleared of rape charges in London this week …

The Environmental Toll of a Netflix Binge  —  My favorite part of highways in the American midwest are the wind turbines.  Not so much the massive wind turbines on the horizon, begging for a contemporary Don Quixote to come at them, but the bits and pieces of wind turbines …

Adelson son-in-law orchestrated family's purchase of Las Vegas Review-Journal  —  The son-in-law of billionaire casino owner Sheldon Adelson arranged the $140 million purchase of the Las Vegas Review-Journal on Adelson's behalf, sources confirmed Wednesday.  —  Patrick Dumont …

Defense Secretary Conducted Some Official Business on a Personal Email Account  —  WASHINGTON — Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter relied on a personal email account to conduct a portion of his government business during his first months at the Pentagon, according to White House …

Congress's $12 billion giveaway to health insurers  —  As Congress rushes to pass an omnibus tax/spending bill for the coming year, it's concocting a special tax break for health-insurance companies.  —  And it amounts to a back-door bailout.  —  Until this week, insurance-company lobbyists …

Exclusive: Homeland Security rejected plan to vet visa applicants' social media  —  Top officials at the Department of Homeland Security considered a specific policy to strengthen security screenings for foreign visa applicants' social media accounts, but the proposal was ultimately rejected …

Team led by Middle Eastern Woman Caught Surveilling U.S. Facility on Mexican Border  —  A Middle Eastern woman was caught surveilling a U.S. port of entry on the Mexican border holding a sketchbook with Arabic writing and drawings of the facility and its security system, federal law enforcement sources tell Judicial Watch.

Window for an independent Trump bid is wide open  —  Donald Trump could campaign for the Republican nomination well into March before deciding to ditch the GOP and mount an independent bid for the White House.  —  According to a POLITICO analysis, the obstacles standing in his way are few …

After public letter, no written directive from Christie on Syrian refugees  —  A month ago, Governor Chris Christie joined other governors in saying that he would not allow Syrian refugees into his state in the wake of the Paris attacks.  —  Reinforcing his hard-line position …

Walt Disney World, SeaWorld, Universal install metal detectors at theme parks  —  Photos of the 46 rides listed as “attractions” at the four Walt Disney World theme parks. … In a sign of how jittery the nation has become about terrorism and gun violence, all three major Orlando theme parks …

Obama meets Bloomberg as he prepares order on guns  —  Washington (CNN)As his administration prepares an executive order tightening access to guns, President Barack Obama met Wednesday with former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a proponent of new gun laws who has become the chief enemy of the National Rifle Association.