Bibi Netanyahu Makes Trump His Chump  —  For those of you confused over the latest fight between President Obama and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu of Israel, let me make it simple: Barack Obama and John Kerry admire and want to preserve Israel as a Jewish and democratic state in the Land of Israel.

What's really bugging Trump about Obama  —  Donald Trump can't decide whether he thinks the transition of power is going well or not.  —  But he knows he doesn't like how much attention Barack Obama is getting and is also bothered by what Trump and his closest advisers see as an active effort …

GOP Readies Swift Obamacare Repeal With No Replacement in Place  —  Senate will start in early January to repeal health-care law  —  Republicans split over how long to delay replacement plan  —  The first major act of the unified Republican government in 2017 will be a vote in Congress to begin tearing down Obamacare.

Debbie Reynolds, ‘Singin’ in the Rain' Star and Carrie Fisher's Mother, Dies at 84  —  Debbie Reynolds, the Oscar-nominated singer-actress who was the mother of late actress Carrie Fisher, has died at Cedars-Sinai hospital.  She was 84.  —  “She wanted to be with Carrie,” her son Todd Fisher told Variety.

Trump Takes Credit for Sprint Plan to Add 5,000 Jobs in U.S.  —  By NELSON D. SCHWARTZ and MICHAEL J. de la MERCEDDecember 28, 2016  —  President-elect Donald J. Trump took credit on Wednesday for a decision by Sprint to add 5,000 jobs in the United States, as he tried to deliver on his promise …

Milo Yiannopoulos Strikes $250K Book Deal (Exclusive)  —  “They said banning me from Twitter would finish me off.  Just as I predicted, the opposite has happened,” says Yiannopoulos.  —  Milo Yiannopoulos has parlayed his ban from Twitter — and some controversial appearances on college campuses …

DC private schools giving Kellyanne Conway the brush-off  —  MORE FROM:  —  Kellyanne Conway is worried establishment elites in Washington, DC, are so prejudiced against President-elect Trump that she won't be able to get her kids into private school in the nation's capital.

Trump on Russian hacking: ‘Computers have complicated lives very greatly’  —  on Wednesday said he thinks computers have made people's lives much more complex when asked about Russian hacking.  —  “I think that computers have complicated lives very greatly,” the president-elect said Wednesday …

Syrian Government Announces Truce Backed by Russia and Turkey  —  MOSCOW — The Syrian government and its most important ally, Russia, announced on Thursday that they had reached a cease-fire agreement with Syrian rebels and with Turkey — a potential turning point in a civil war …

Nevada's voter-OK'ed gun background checks blocked  —  Final update  —  The expansion of gun background checks approved by Nevada voters last month will not happen as expected, based on an opinion released Wednesday by the Nevada Attorney General's Office.

Americans — especially but not exclusively Trump voters — believe crazy, wrong things  —  Many Americans believe a lot of dumb, crazy, destructive, provably wrong stuff.  Lately this is especially (though not exclusively) true of Donald Trump voters, according to a new survey.

David Fahrenthold tells the behind-the-scenes story of his year covering Trump  —  “Arnold and Tim, if you'd come up, we're going to give you a nice, beautiful check,” Donald Trump said.  He held up an oversize check, the kind they give to people who win golf tournaments.  It was for $100,000.

Open Society Needs Defending  —  Open societies are in crisis, and various forms of closed societies - from fascist dictatorships to mafia states - are on the rise.  Because elected leaders failed to meet voters' legitimate expectations and aspirations, electorates have become disenchanted …

US military could carry out first execution in over 50 years  —  (CNN)A former US Army soldier who has been on death row since 1988 for raping and murdering several women could now face execution after a judge denied his bid for another stay of execution.  —  Judge J. Thomas Marten …

Trump Weighs Letting Veterans Opt Out of V.A. Medical Care  —  WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President-elect Donald J. Trump is considering a plan to allow military veterans to opt out of medical care at Veterans Affairs hospitals and instead see private doctors of their choosing …