Green Party Drops Statewide Pennsylvania Recount  —  HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP/KDKA) - Green Party-backed voters dropped a court case Saturday night that had sought to force a statewide recount of Pennsylvania's Nov. 8 presidential election, won by Republican Donald Trump, in what Green Party …

Scott Adams' Blog  —  By now you know that President Elect Trump took a call from the President of Taiwan and simultaneously lit on fire the underpants of the mainstream media and maybe the leadership of China too.  —  Apparently taking a phone call from the president of Taiwan …

Americans' Support for Electoral College Rises Sharply  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans' support for keeping the Electoral College system for electing presidents has increased sharply.  Weeks after the 2016 election, 47% of Americans say they want to keep the Electoral College …

Can You Figure Out the Mystery Inside This Remarkable Ad About High School Love?  —  A message deeper than idle sketches  —  Here's a pretty amazing ad from BBDO New York, with a mystery at its core.  —  At the outset, we meet Evan, a high school kid who can't wait for summer break.

Oakland: At least nine dead after massive fire at live-work space party … OAKLAND — In what may be the deadliest structure fire in Oakland's history, at least nine people died in a blaze that broke out late Friday at an electronic music party at a Fruitvale district live-work space, officials said.

In Trump's Security Pick, Michael Flynn, ‘Sharp Elbows’ and No Dissent  —  WASHINGTON — Days after Islamist militants stormed the American diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012, Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn reached a conclusion that stunned some of his subordinates at the Defense Intelligence Agency …

So Far Appalachia: The Myth of the Rural, White Working Class + Voting Against Their Self Interest  —  I'm writing a book about Appalachia.  More specially, I'm writing a memoir of my family, which helped settled what is now the poorest county in the country: Clay County, which The New York Times dubbed …

Rep. McCaul: Yes, we will build a wall, put Mexico on a “payment plan” and enforce the law  —  FILE: Undated: Unidentified people in Mexico crossing the Rio Grande to enter the United States illegally, in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.  (AP)  —  Donald Trump campaigned on a big promise …

He got life without parole for pot.  And he was just denied clemency.  —  This post has been updated to include quotes from The Watch's interview with Ferrell Scott.  —  Ferrell Scott was sentenced to life in prison for possession and conspiracy to distribute marijuana …

DON'T MISS STORIES.  FOLLOW RAW STORY!  —  The announcement that Mall of America was welcoming its first black Santa Claus was greeted in many quarters as a good thing but, as might be expected in a country that has become increasingly more comfortable saying any racist thing that comes to mind, many were highly offended.

Extremists Turn to a Leader to Protect Western Values: Vladimir Putin  —  As the founder of the Traditionalist Worker Party, an American group that aims to preserve the privileged place of whiteness in Western civilization and fight “anti-Christian degeneracy,” Matthew Heimbach knows whom …

Will Ivanka Trump Be the Most Powerful First Daughter in History?  —  Ivanka Trump is about to become the most influential first daughter since Alice Roosevelt Longworth.  But can she do so without damaging her own brand?  —  When Nancy Pelosi, the minority leader of the House of Representatives …

Madonna Repeatedly Slams Donald Trump, Says She's “Ashamed to be an American” at Miami Fundraiser  —  The musician also kissed Ariana Grande and teased ex-husband Sean Penn, who crawled through her legs at one point as the two tried to coerce the audience to bid higher.

Bertolucci Admits He Conspired to Shoot a Non-Consensual Rape Scene in ‘Last Tango in Paris’  —  The director said he didn't tell star Maria Schneider because he “wanted her reaction as a girl not as an actress.”  —  CONTENT NOTICE: This article contains disturbing stories of rape and assault.

Trump, Finally Explained  —  Do you remember “50 First Dates”?  It was a Drew Barrymore movie about a woman with short-term amnesia who wakes up every morning with no memory whatsoever of the day that went before.  —  I am thinking it's the perfect Donald Trump analogy.

The Scourge of Racial Bias in New York State's Prisons  —  A New York Times investigation draws on nearly 60,000 disciplinary cases from state prisons and interviews with inmates to explore the system's inequalities and the ripple effect these can have.  —  The racism can be felt …

Learning From Trump in Retrospect  —  I've started to rewatch Trump rallies from the month before he was elected President.  I've seen some of them before, but that was always with the presumption he was unlikely to win; now I watch them trying to figure out how he did it …