China blasts ‘petty’ Taiwan call with Trump  —  BEIJING — On Friday, President Xi Jinping told Henry Kissinger that he hoped for “stability” in U.S.-China ties under the new administration.  Nobody told Donald Trump.  —  The president-elect on Friday broke with four decades of diplomatic practice …

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 …

Bergdahl asks Obama for pardon  —  Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was held captive for five years and freed in an exchange for five Taliban prisoners, has asked President Obama to pardon him before leaving the White House.  —  A source told Fox News that Bergdahl wrote a letter to Obama thanking …

G.O.P. Plans Immediate Repeal of Health Law, Then a Delay  —  WASHINGTON — Republicans in Congress plan to move almost immediately next month to repeal the Affordable Care Act, as President-elect Donald J. Trump promised.  But they also are likely to delay the effective date …

The General Who Should Lead the Pentagon  —  Nominating a retired general to be secretary of defense is an unusual move in American politics.  Since just after World War II, when the Department of Defense was created, only one general has held the post.  That was George C. Marshall …

Federal judge denies quick halt to recount  —  Madison — A federal judge Friday denied an emergency halt to the recount of the presidential vote in Wisconsin, allowing the process to continue until a Dec. 9 court hearing at least.  —  There is no need to halt the recount just yet …

Trump's education pick says reform can 'advance God's Kingdom'  —  The billionaire philanthropist whom Donald Trump has tapped to lead the Education Department once compared her work in education reform to a biblical battleground where she wants to “advance God's Kingdom.”

Prominent gay Republican said DeVos stood up for him  —  Greg McNeilly, political advisor to Betsy DeVos and a prominent gay Republican, spoke Friday of the incoming education secretary saying she stood up for him at a time when his sexual orientation wasn't widely known.

Philly Clout: Turnpike manager rips his bosses in email minutes before retirement  —  FILE THIS ONE under: “Well, You Asked.”  —  Michael Stuban, a midlevel manager at the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, retired on Thanksgiving after a 35-year career that started in a tollbooth.

The North Carolina GOP Has a New Suppression Tactic: Voter Defamation  —  As they challenge the results of a governor's race, the state's Republicans lay the groundwork for a Trump-era assault on voting rights.  —  My neighbor Lucia Foster was surprised when I emailed her on November 18.

CNN apologizes, disciplines producer after employee was caught on hot mic joking about Trump's plane crashing  —  CNN on Friday apologized after one of its producers was caught on a hot mic making a joke about President-elect Donald Trump's plane crashing.  —  “An unfortunate and inappropriate remark …