Russian hackers penetrated U.S. electricity grid through a utility in Vermont, U.S. officials say  —  A code associated with the Russian hacking operation dubbed Grizzly Steppe by the Obama administration has been detected within the system of a Vermont utility, according to U.S. officials.

N.C.'s outgoing GOP governor appears to make one last attempt to stick it to the Democrat who beat him  —  With just one day to go before he leaves office, North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) threw a legal hail mary to the U.S. Supreme Court in another apparent effort to undermine his Democratic successor's ability to govern.

Trump Said to Weigh Aide's Husband for Top Legal Job  —  Corporate lawyer George Conway in line for solicitor general  —  Conway has handled high-profile clients for law firm  —  President-elect Donald Trump is considering George Conway, a long-time corporate lawyer and the husband …

Obama settling old grudges — but not against Russian, Israeli leaders  —  Is President Obama using his final weeks in office to settle personal grudges against Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu?  Obama certainly appears to be settling scores …

Something About This Russia Story Stinks  —  Nearly a decade and a half after the Iraq-WMD faceplant, the American press is again asked to co-sign a dubious intelligence assessment  —  In an extraordinary development Thursday, the Obama administration announced a series of sanctions against Russia.

Dear Family and Friends,  —  This is the message I have sent to Choir:  —  Dear President Jarrett and Choir,  —  Today is my birthday.  (Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you...........)  —  It is with a sad and heavy heart that I submit my resignation to you and to Choir.

Mexican Man Charged With Rape Had 19 Deportations, Removals  —  A Mexican man accused of raping a 13-year-old girl on a Greyhound bus that traveled through Kansas had been deported 10 times and voluntarily removed from the U.S. another nine times since 2003, records obtained by The Associated Press show.

U.S. Ethics Chief Was Behind Those Tweets About Trump, Records Show  —  In November, the typically straitlaced Office of Government Ethics surprised observers with a series of tweets mimicking Donald Trump's bombastic style, exclamation points and all: “Brilliant!  Divestiture is good for you, good for America!”

What Chuck Todd gets about Trump  —  Chuck Todd has interviewed Donald Trump many times, and he's noticed something somewhat disquieting about the unquiet president-elect.  —  The man doesn't laugh — not in a normal, spontaneous, regular-human kind of way.  —  “[It] drives me crazy.  Do you know what?

Obama to huddle with Hill Democrats on saving Obamacare  —  President Barack Obama will head to Capitol Hill Wednesday to meet with congressional Democrats about how to shield Obamacare from Republican efforts to dismantle it, a Capitol Hill source told POLITICO.

No US carrier at sea leaves gap in Middle East  —  For the next week, not only will there be no U.S. Navy aircraft carrier in the Middle East, but there will be no American aircraft carriers deployed at sea anywhere else in the world, despite a host of worldwide threats facing the United States.

Mar-a-Lago sold tickets to New Year's Eve party with Trump  —  Mar-a-Lago, the pricey private resort in Palm Beach, Florida, sold hundreds of tickets at more than $500 a piece to an annual New Year's Eve extravaganza planned for Saturday night that will feature a very special guest …

Some DC Restaurants Are Donating Their Inauguration Profits To Anti-Trump Organizations  —  The profits will go to support Planned Parenthood and pro-immigrant organizations, among other charities.  —  More than a dozen high-profile DC restaurants have pledged to donate a portion …

Fired Miami cops joked about using black neighborhoods for target practice  —  Three rookie Miami police officers fired two days before Christmas joked in a group chat with other cops about using predominately black neighborhoods for target practice, an internal affairs investigation found this month.

Steve Bannon: ‘Hobbits and Deplorables Had a Great Run in 2016,’ but It's Only ‘Top of the First Inning’  —  Stephen K. Bannon, former Breitbart News executive chairman, founding host of Breitbart News Daily, and now chief political strategist for the incoming Trump White House, made a special appearance on the final live show of 2016.

Free Market for Education?  Economists Generally Don't Buy It  —  The odds are good that privatizing education will be part of the agenda for President-elect Donald J. Trump's administration.  The Republican platform calls for increasing the role of banks in giving out student loans.

Oklahoma cop who saved woman's life in viral video now arrested for internet crimes against child  —  BLANCHARD, Okla. - The Oklahoma cop who was caught on dash cam video saving a woman's life earlier this year has now been arrested for internet crimes against a child.

Donald Trump supporter ‘films barrage of abuse he receives for wearing a #buildthewall T-shirt’ INSIDE his California apartment building  —  A Donald Trump supporter claims he was verbally attacked by his anti-Trump neighbors because he was wearing one of the president-elect's T-shirts.