The Perfect Weapon: How Russian Cyberpower Invaded the U.S.  —  WASHINGTON — When Special Agent Adrian Hawkins of the Federal Bureau of Investigation called the Democratic National Committee in September 2015 to pass along some troubling news about its computer network, he was transferred, naturally, to the help desk.

IBM unveils plan to hire 25,000 in US on eve of Trump meeting  —  12k  —  US technology giant IBM said Tuesday it would hire 25,000 people in the country over the next four years, a day before President-elect Donald Trump meets with tech industry leaders.  —  About 6,000 of those hirings …

The Latest: Judge Says Colorado Electors Can't Switch Votes  —  The Latest on Colorado electors trying to stop a Trump presidency (all times local):  —  A Colorado judge is ordering the state's nine electors to vote for Hillary Clinton.  —  Two electors had sued in hopes of being freed …

The Humbling Of Mitt Romney, By Donald J. Trump  —  “Mitt Romney is somebody I had respect for,” Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid says.  “I have none anymore.”  —  Washington bureau chief for The Huffington Post  —  When Barack Obama first decided that Hillary Clinton would make an able secretary …

Alan Thicke — Dead at 69  —  EXCLUSIVE  —  TV icon Alan Thicke has died ... TMZ has learned.  —  We're told Alan had a heart attack while he was playing hockey with his 19-year-old son, Carter.  He was transported to Providence St. Joseph's Medical Center around noon today, and pronounced dead there.

Gates, Rice, Baker pushed Tillerson nomination despite ties to ExxonMobil  —  Washington (CNN)Condoleezza Rice, James Baker and Robert Gates all played a crucial role in convincing President-elect Donald Trump to pick ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson as his nominee for secretary of state …

Senate already bickering over Sessions  —  Jeff Sessions is still weeks away from his confirmation hearings to become Donald Trump's attorney general.  But top senators are already flinging accusations at each other, with Democrats demanding more time to review Sessions' record …

Records: Too many votes in 37% of Detroit's precincts  —  Voting machines in more than one-third of all Detroit precincts registered more votes than they should have during last month's presidential election, according to Wayne County records prepared at the request of The Detroit News.

Trump selects Zinke as interior secretary  —  President-elect Donald Trump has offered the interior secretary position to Montana's freshman Rep. Ryan Zinke, an ex-Navy Seal commander, according to two transition officials and someone familiar with the offer.

Labor Secretary Tom Perez will join race to run DNC  —  Labor Secretary Tom Perez will launch a campaign to be Democratic National Committee chairman this week, becoming the first serious challenger to Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) for a lead role in rebuilding a shellshocked party.

Why do California's whites vote so differently than whites elsewhere?  —  My tribe, Caucasoid Californicus, is dwindling.  Over the last quarter century, California's non-Latino white population has plunged by 2 million as Latinos and Asians burgeoned.  In 1990, nearly six in 10 Californians were white …

Divisions deepen inside Trump Tower  —  Donald Trump's White House-in-waiting is already being roiled by divisions, with the conservative outsiders who helped power his historic victory colliding with a Republican Party establishment muscling its way in.  —  Insiders paint a picture …

Trump victory rally is a warning for Ryan  —  Donald Trump warned Paul Ryan on Tuesday night that if the speaker “ever goes against me,” the president-elect will stop defending him — although he seemed to use a lighthearted tone when he said it.  —  During a “thank you” rally in West Allis …

The Defense of Liberty Can't Do Without Identity Politics  —  In his post introducing the Niskanen Center's project to revitalize liberalism, Will Wilkinson called for both restating old liberal truths and for updating them for our own era, in light of what we have learned, echoing F.A. Hayek's articulating of his own task in his era.

Disgrace under pressure  —  A month after the surprise election of Donald Trump in November (surprising to noone more than to Trump and Clinton), the losers are still working through the stages of anguish in ways that seem strange to many observers but of which they appear oddly proud.

Evacuations Set to Begin as Assad Reclaims Aleppo  —  Deal brokered by Russia and Turkey calls for civilians to leave last opposition-held areas; residents report atrocities by regime's forces  —  Tens of thousands of civilians and the remaining rebels are preparing to evacuate the decimated city of Aleppo …

Pageant Silences Beauty Queen, a Critic of China, at U.S. Contest  —  After the Chinese authorities blocked the Canadian beauty queen Anastasia Lin from attending the 65th annual Miss World pageant in China last year, the event's British organizers offered her a consolation prize, of sorts …

Gov. John Kasich vetoes Heartbeat Bill, signs 20-week abortion ban  —  Ohio Gov. John Kasich today vetoed the Heartbeat Bill forbidding abortions when a fetal heartbeat can be detected while signing into law a second bill banning abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Pelosi doubts GOP can pull off ObamaCare repeal  —  House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Tuesday expressed strong doubts that Donald Trump  —  and the Republicans can pull off ObamaCare repeal.  —  The president-elect and GOP leaders have vowed to prioritize repeal in the first 100 days of Trump's administration.