Trump allies try to freeze recount efforts  —  Allies of Donald Trump are trying to freeze recount efforts in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin — three states in which the president-elect narrowly beat Hillary Clinton — as they seek to preserve the legitimacy of Trump's win.

Trump's unusual phone call is great for his business, dangerous for America  —  Putting the Trump Organization first.  —  Trump is mixing his business with the presidency.  Today was a stark illustration that the combination is extremely dangerous—to Americans and the world.

Sarah Palin: But... Wait... The Good Guys Won't Win With More Crony Capitalism  —  I am ecstatic for Carrier employees!  Their bosses just decided to keep shop onshore.  What a relief for hundreds of workers.  Merry Christmas Indiana!  We don't yet know terms of the public/private deal …

Obama considering post-presidential digital media career, sources say  —  President Barack Obama has been discussing a post-presidential career in digital media and is considering launching his own media company, according to multiple sources who spoke on background because they were not authorized to speak for the president.

Democrats could block Mattis nomination  —  Gen. James Mattis will need a supermajority to win confirmation from the Senate.  —  Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) will require a vote at a 60-vote threshold to allow Mattis to become the defense secretary, an aide said.

CNN Crew Jokes about Donald Trump's Plane Crashing  —  CNN Correspondent Suzanne Malveaux was covering the Carrier press conference, that featured both Donald Trump and Mike Pence.  —  Carrier was able to negotiate huge tax breaks for their company, if they promised not to move all their jobs to Mexico.

The letter from Carrier to its employees that Donald Trump doesn't want you to read  —  “It is not good news for everyone.”  —  On Thursday, President-elect Donald Trump traveled to the Carrier factory in Indianapolis, Indiana to tout the deal he helped orchestrate to keep about 800 manufacturing jobs …

Employment Situation Summary  —  Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until USDL-16-2233 8:30 a.m. (EST) Friday, December 2, 2016  —  Technical information:  —  Household data: (202) 691-6378 * cpsinfo@bls.gov * www.bls.gov/cps

Lewandowski: Times editor Dean Baquet ‘should be in jail’ for publishing Trump tax docs  —  Corey Lewandowski, Donald Trump's first campaign manager, said Thursday that New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet “should be in jail” because the newspaper published parts of the president-elect's tax returns during the race.

Even elite campaign aides still aren't sure why Donald Trump succeeded  —  Baffled at times and often bitter, more than two dozen of the country's top political operatives grappled with questions that have dominated American politics for 18 months: What explains Donald Trump's astonishing political success …

The 2016 Election Is a Disaster Without a Moral  —  Marge: The moral of the story is that a good deed is its own reward!  —  Bart: But we got a reward, the head is cool!  —  Marge: Well, then maybe the moral is, no good deed goes unrewarded.  —  Homer: Wait a minute! … Homer: Exactly!

I Served With James Mattis.  Here's What I Learned From Him  —  This article is slightly amended and reprinted, with permission, from The Strategy Bridge.  —  America knows Gen. James Mattis as a character, Mad Dog Mattis, the font of funny quotes and Chuck Norris-caliber memes.

The post-truth world of the Trump administration is scarier than you think  —  You may think you are prepared for a post-truth world, in which political appeals to emotion count for more than statements of verifiable fact.  —  But now it's time to cross another bridge — into a world without facts.

Seduced and Betrayed by Donald Trump  —  Donald Trump won the Electoral College (though not the popular vote) on the strength of overwhelming support from working-class whites, who feel left behind by a changing economy and society.  And they're about to get their reward — the same reward that …

Amy Schumer Playing ‘Barbie’  —  Amy Schumer will play the title role in Barbie, the live action Sony Pictures film based on the venerable Mattel toyline.  The PG movie will begin production in the spring for a global summer 2018 tent pole bow, after Schumer puts her imprint on the script by Hillary Winston.

Dead man found inside SUV with pile of parking tickets on windshield  —  Sun Sentinel … For four days, city parking officers slapped tickets on an SUV parked three blocks from the Broward County Courthouse.  When Carolyn White noticed the pile of citations, she wondered what was going on.

Philippines' Duterte gets Trump White House invite during ‘animated’ call  —  U.S. President-elect Donald Trump invited Philippines leader Rodrigo Duterte to the White House next year during a “very engaging, animated” phone conversation, a Duterte aide said on Friday, amid rocky relations between their two countries.

Bush Ethics Lawyer: Electors Shouldn't Vote For Trump With Current Conflicts (VIDEO)  —  A former ethics lawyer for President George W. Bush suggested in an interview Friday that the Electoral College should consider not voting for President-elect Trump if he doesn't move to address certain conflicts …

Police: Men Screaming ‘Trump’ Try To Rip Off Woman's Hijab On NYC Subway  —  Three men physically attacked a Muslim teenager at a Manhattan subway stop on Thursday night while shouting the name of the President-elect, police told the New York Daily News.  —  Police said the unidentified 18 …

Wahlberg: Celebs should stop talking about politics  —  Mark Wahlberg has a message for Hollywood stars who get political: Zip it.  —  “A lot of celebrities did, do, and shouldn't,” Wahlberg said in an interview published this week on the military veterans news site Task & Purpose.

What's the most Instagrammed place in every state?  —  In a new world of photo sharing and filters, and as 2016 nears its end, USA Today put together a list of the most photographed places in every state pulled from Instagram data thanks to the app's 500 million users.  Angeli Kakade (@angelikakade) has the story.

Ark. lawmaker wants Clintons' names removed from Little Rock airport  —  An Arkansas state senator wants to take Bill and Hillary Clinton  —  's names off the state's largest airport.  —  State Sen. Jason Rapert (R) said November's election results show Arkansans don't believe the Clintons …

Dean drops out of DNC chairmanship race  —  DENVER — Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean dropped out of the race to become the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) on Friday.  —  Dean, who served as DNC chairman from 2005 to 2009, announced in a pre-recorded video to a conference …

GOP Congressman Says Trump Team Has Given “Assurances” On Religious Freedom Measure  —  Rep. Steve Russell told BuzzFeed News he has “gotten very positive signals” from the Trump team that it will act to protect federal contractors' religious freedom.  Critics say such actions are designed …