Trump plots big TV ad blitz that could change campaign landscape  —  When Donald Trump and his team were planning his presidential campaign, they drew up a budget of $25 million for television advertising in the third quarter of this year.  —  They wound up spending zero for the rest of 2015.

No charges for Cleveland police officers in shooting death of 12-year-old Tamir Rice  —  After more than a year of investigation, a Cleveland grand jury declined to bring charges against either of the two police officers involved in the November 2014 shooting of Tamir Rice, a 12-year-old boy who was playing with a toy weapon in a park.

Clinton Most Admired Woman for Record 20th Time  —  PRINCETON, N.J. — Americans again name Hillary Clinton and President Barack Obama the woman and man living anywhere in the world they admire most.  Both win by wide margins over the next-closest finishers, Malala Yousafzai for women and Pope Francis and Donald Trump for men.

‘Awards Chatter’ Podcast — Samuel L. Jackson ('The Hateful Eight')  —  The 67-year-old, whose films have grossed more than any other actor's in history, opens up about reuniting with Quentin Tarantino and Spike Lee, Oscars “bulls**t,” his stutter, the N-word, cops and the “hate” of his golfing buddy Donald Trump.

Obama's Economic Performance Is Even Better Than It Looks  —  Paul Krugman presents us today with an updated version of his chart showing private employment gains during the Obama administration compared to the Bush administration:  —  But Obama's performance is even better than it looks.

Sixty thousand New Yorkers sign up for ‘tiny house’ development: 265 square foot apartments with retractable beds attract huge wave of interest... but would you pay up to $3,000 a month for this?  —  More than 60,000 people have applied to live in new apartments the size of garages in Manhattan.

Creature from the deep surfaces in Japanese harbor  —  Tokyo (CNN)It isn't every day that a mystery from the deep swims into plain sight.  But on Christmas Eve, spectators on a pier in Toyama Bay in central Japan were treated to a rare sighting of a giant squid.

Trump Flip-Flops on Wages After Sanders Makes a Pass at His Supporters  —  Donald Trump has apparently changed his mind about economic inequality, lamenting on Twitter Monday that wages are to low.  This weekend, Bernie Sanders suggested that he might be able to lift the spell cast over the white …

Pope and change  —  You know the answer to these year-end questions but just play along.  —  Name the biggest 2015 event on Capitol Hill?  The one event it was near impossible to get a ticket to attend.  —  It is not close - you're right, the pope's visit.  —  And you'll know the answer to this one too.

191 million voters' personal info exposed by misconfigured database (UPDATED)  —  A misconfigured database leaking the personal information of over 191 million voters was reported to DataBreaches.net by researcher Chris Vickery.  This report includes some of the results of an investigation by Vickery …

‘Affluenza’ teen Ethan Couch detained in Mexico  —  (CNN)Mexican authorities have detained so-called “affluenza” teen Ethan Couch and his mother near the popular Mexican Pacific beach resort town of Puerto Vallarta, officials briefed on the matter told CNN.  —  Couch went missing earlier this month …

State Dept. counts ‘bringing peace’ to Syria as a 2015 win  —  The State Department is counting “bringing peace” to Syria as one of its wins in 2015.  —  A boastful recap of the State Department's accomplishments, written by spokesman John Kirby, includes the bold subheadline of “Bringing Peace …

Police: Woman killed victim, left body on couch for days  —  PHOENIX (KSAZ) - A valley woman says the body of a victim found by police on her couch was a “shrine from God.”  —  The Phoenix Police Department tells Fox 10 that 39-year-old Anitra Braxton has been charged with murder …

Ben Carson on the brink: ‘A process like this is pretty brutal’  —  Two days before Christmas, with his presidential campaign fading fast, Ben Carson sought to take control at his manse in the countryside west of Baltimore.  —  A video crew was in the front living room preparing to film a campaign ad.

Public document complicates Christie's pro-life conversion story  —  The story of how Gov. Chris Christie converted from being pro-choice to pro-life 20 years ago is touching and deeply personal, and he tells it frequently at town hall meetings.  —  It goes like this: In 1995 …

Wife of Bataclan shooter ‘proud’ and ‘happy’  —  Investigators have uncovered shocking messages sent by the wife of one of the Paris shooters, in which she boasts of her “great life” in Iraq and says she is “proud” of her husband.  —  The wife of one of the Bataclan terrorists said she was …

Hard-Living Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead Dies at 70, Band Confirms  —  Ian Kilmister — the iconic Lemmy of British heavy metal pioneers Motörhead — died Monday at age 70 of “extremely aggressive cancer,” the band said.  —  Kilmister — who legendarily survived diabetes …