House Republicans gut their own oversight  —  In one of their first moves of the new Congress, House Republicans have voted to gut their own independent ethics watchdog — a huge blow to cheerleaders of congressional oversight and one that dismantles major reforms adopted after the Jack Abramoff scandal.

Trump: North Korea will be stopped  —  President-elect Donald Trump tweeted Monday evening that North Korea won't reach the final stages of developing a nuclear weapon that will be able to hit the United States.  —  “North Korea just stated that it is in the final stages of developing …

Many in U.S. Skeptical Trump Can Handle Presidential Duties  —  PRINCETON, N.J. — As Donald Trump prepares to take the presidential oath on Jan. 20, less than half of Americans are confident in his ability to handle an international crisis (46%), to use military force wisely (47%) …

Israeli police question PM Netanyahu in corruption probe  —  Israeli police have questioned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as part of an inquiry into corruption allegations.  —  Ahead of their arrival at his residence, Mr Netanyahu again denied any wrongdoing.

Nude Neptune sunk by Facebook's privacy controls  —  A statue of Neptune in the Italian city of Bologna has fallen foul of Facebook's privacy policies, which claim it is “explicitly sexual.”  —  According to the Telegraph, local writer Elisa Barbari chose the 16th-century statue …

Joe Scarborough against the world  —  Joe Scarborough is fed up with his critics.  —  “I am sick and tired of people misrepresenting me and making snide assumptions and giving readers false conclusions,” the “Morning Joe” co-host told CNNMoney on Monday.  In 2017, he said, he was “going to war against lies.”

Donald Trump's New Year's Eve speech cited Dubai business partner  —  Hussain Sajwani, founder of the DAMAC Group  —  (CNN)Donald Trump gave a lengthy description of his electoral victory, and lavished praise upon a Dubai business partner, during a ten-minute speech to 800 paying guests at his Florida estate Saturday night.

Adviser contradicts Trump: Russians hacked the US  —  Washington (CNN)A top adviser to President-elect Donald Trump said Monday he thinks the Russians were involved in election-related hacking of the US — a very different view than that held by the incoming administration.

Repeal and Delay Is Forever  —  The Republican Party has used health care to its advantage for the last seven years by following the same strategy: advocating an alternative plan that does not and cannot exist.  During this entire time, President Obama has held power.

Former Chicago police chief blasts Black Lives Matter  —  Former Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy on Sunday blamed the Black Lives Matter movement for causing a rise in violent crime around the country.  —  During a radio interview with John Catsimatidis on AM 970 in New York …

Pelosi: Ball in GOP court on ObamaCare replacement  —  House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Monday that the ball is in the GOP's court when it comes to replacing ObamaCare, according to reports.  —  Pelosi didn't necessarily rule out working with the GOP on replacing President …

Inauguration ceremony  —  I've been asked and this is my answer.  If you allow me to sing “strange fruit” a song that has huge historical importance, a song that was blacklisted in the United States for being too controversial.  A song that speaks to all the disregarded and down trodden black people in the United States.

Turkey nightclub attack: IS says it carried out shooting  —  So-called Islamic State says it was behind the new year attack on a Turkish nightclub that killed 39 people.  —  The group said in a statement it was carried out by “a heroic soldier”.  —  At least 600 revellers were celebrating …

Obama could still force Garland onto court during ‘intersession recess’  —  President Obama will have one last chance to force Judge Merrick Garland onto the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday — but it's a legal gamble and one that has so many pitfalls that even those who say he could get away with it believe it isn't worth the fight.