Defying U.N., Israel Prepares to Build More Settlements  —  JERUSALEM — Undeterred by a resounding defeat at the United Nations, Israel's government said Monday that it would move ahead with thousands of new homes in disputed areas and warned nations against further action, declaring that Israel does not “turn the other cheek.”

Who Will Do What Harry Reid Did Now That Harry Reid Is Gone?  —  Nevada's departing senator would have fought Trump with a ruthlessness perhaps no other Democratic leader has.  —  Harry Reid was searching for someone to take a stand.  It was a Tuesday morning in early December …

Full interview: Incoming White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer  —  PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — Last week it was announced that Barrington native Sean Spicer was tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to be the new White House press secretary and communications director.

Trump picks Tom Bossert as homeland security adviser  —  President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that Tom Bossert, a former national security aide to President George W. Bush, will serve as his homeland security adviser in the White House.  —  Bossert, currently a fellow …

Trump adviser on lack of star power at inauguration: ‘This is not Woodstock’  —  Donald Trump's inaugural committee is having no problems finding celebrities to attend his inauguration because that's not who the committee is looking for, Trump adviser Boris Epshteyn said Tuesday.

Sorry, Liberals.  Bigotry Didn't Elect Donald Trump.  —  Donald J. Trump won the white working-class vote over Hillary Clinton by a larger margin than any major-party nominee since World War II.  Instead of this considerable achievement inspiring introspection, figures from the heights of journalism …

Farewell for 12/27/2016  —  Even the best things come to an end.  After enjoying a quarter of a century of writing this column for Creators Syndicate, I have decided to stop.  Age 86 is well past the usual retirement age, so the question is not why I am quitting, but why I kept at it so long.

Thanks to no-drama Obama, American leadership is gone  —  If Dec. 7, 1941, is the day that Franklin D. Roosevelt said “will live in infamy,” then Dec. 20, 2016, has got to be a close second.  No Americans died that day as they did at Pearl Harbor, but the American Century …

Trump rewards big donors with jobs and access  —  More than a third of the almost 200 people who have met with President-elect Donald Trump since his election last month, including those interviewing for administration jobs, gave large amounts of money to support his campaign and other Republicans this election cycle.

GOP eyes 2018 Senate race against Tammy Baldwin  —  Emboldened by last month's triumphs in Wisconsin, Republicans are already sizing up their next big target, taking on Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin in 2018.  —  The race against Baldwin is expected to be among the fiercest in the next election cycle.

In North Carolina, Some Democrats See Their Grim Future  —  In the end, even Phil Berger, the powerful Republican leader of North Carolina's Senate, couldn't stop the debacle.  A state law that effectively banned legal protections for gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people …

These coal country voters backed Trump.  Now they're worried about losing Obamacare.  —  Last night, CNN aired a terrific segment on people from coal country who voted for Donald Trump — but are now worried that his vow to repeal Obamacare will deprive them of crucial protections that enable them to stay afloat financially.

Comedian Ricky Harris, known for roles in ‘Dope’ and ‘Everybody Hates Chris,’ dies at 54  —  Ricky Harris at the BET Comedy Icon Awards at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium in 2005.  (Frederick M. Brown / Getty Images)  —  Ricky Harris, a comedian known for both his racy stand-up act …

SWAT teams dispatched, families flee from ‘gunfire’ and dozens are arrested... all for the sake of a few holiday bargains: Massive brawls break out as shoppers descend on malls across the country  — Incidents all occurred later afternoon and evening Monday in at least a dozen malls, with police called in

‘Profitable’ Washington Post adding more than five dozen journalists  —  Twenty-sixteen was the year The Washington Post came of age — again.  In its audience growth, in the ambitiousness of its journalism, in its impact on the American conversation, the Post became the U.S.'s fourth national …

George Michael died alone boyfriend reveals as he battled a secret heroin addiction  —  It is a haunting image, a famous music star staring out from the window of his country home as the village Christmas procession passed by - life going on without him.  —  To his fans he was the defining pop idol …

US Government Can Legally Access Your Facebook Data (And Now We Know How)  —  The end of the year is approaching, and data concerning government abuses of power has begun pouring in.  —  According to Facebook's Global Government Requests Report, government's requests for Facebook account data rose 27 percent in the first half of 2016.