U.S. Punishes Russia for Election Hacking, Ejecting Operatives  —  WASHINGTON — The Obama administration struck back at Russia on Thursday for its efforts to influence the 2016 election, ejecting 35 Russian intelligence operatives from the United States and imposing sanctions on Russia's …

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.

Spicer: President Trump won't be beholden to traditional media practices  —  President-elect Donald Trump owes the media a news conference, incoming White House press secretary Sean Spicer said Thursday morning, but beyond that, “business as usual is over.”  —  Spicer said Trump's administration …

Buffalo School Board Passes Resolution Telling Carl Paladino To Resign Within 24 Hours  —  His fellow board members say Paladino, a Donald Trump ally, needs to resign within 24 hours or they will seek his removal from the state.  —  BUFFALO, N.Y. The Buffalo Board of Education voted 6-2 Thursday …

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 …

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.

11 A-list artists that refused to perform at Donald Trump's inauguration  —  If Donald Trump were still just a regular old billionaire and threw a party at Trump Tower in New York City, celebrities would be lined up out the door, and the most famous artists would be pining for a chance to perform.

Gun-loving conservative columnist accidentally killed after letting teen boy hold his firearm  —  DON'T MISS STORIES.  FOLLOW RAW STORY!  —  M.D. Harmon, a conservative columnist who frequently wrote in favor of gun ownership rights for the Portland Press Herald, died this week after being accidentally shot by a teenage boy.

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 …

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 …

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.

The good that could come from a Trump presidency  —  Gloom is a terrible way to ring out the old, and despair is of no help in trying to imagine the new.  —  So let us consider what good might come from the political situation in which we will find ourselves in 2017.