U.S. intercepts capture senior Russian officials celebrating Trump win  —  Senior officials in the Russian government celebrated Donald Trump's victory over Hillary Clinton as a geopolitical win for Moscow, according to U.S. officials who said that American intelligence agencies intercepted communications …

Sources: Trump will ask Congress, not Mexico, to pay for border wall  — The Trump transition team says he his preference is to fund the border wall through the appropriations process  — The move would break a key campaign promise when Trump promised to force Mexico to pay for the wall

Mattis clashing with Trump transition team over Pentagon staffing  —  The honeymoon seems to be ending between retired Gen. James N. Mattis and Donald Trump's transition team amid an increasingly acrimonious dispute over who will get top jobs in the Defense Department — and who gets to make those decisions.

Warren announces she's running for re-election  —  WASHINGTON — Elizabeth Warren announced this morning that she is running for reelection in 2018, seeking a second term as US Senator from Massachusetts.  —  “I am running for re-election in Massachusetts in 2018,” she wrote in an email to her network of supporters.

Repealing the ACA without a Replacement — The Risks to American Health Care  —  Health care policy often shifts when the country's leadership changes.  That was true when I took office, and it will likely be true with President-elect Donald Trump.  I am proud that my administration's work …

In Break With Precedent, Obama Envoys Are Denied Extensions Past Inauguration Day  —  WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald J. Trump's transition staff has issued a blanket edict requiring politically appointed ambassadors to leave their overseas posts by Inauguration Day …

The Age of Fake Policy  —  On Thursday, at a rough estimate, 75,000 Americans were laid off or fired by their employers.  Some of those workers will find good new jobs, but many will end up earning less, and some will remain unemployed for months or years.  —  If that sounds terrible to you …

Send in the Head Clowns  —  Democrats have been in power for so long that they've forgotten how to oppose.  Their party has been on a roll since 2005 when the botched Social Security reform, the slow bleed of the Iraq war, and Hurricane Katrina sent the Bush administration into a tailspin.

President Obama Talks Race Relations, Calls Alleged Hate Crime in Facebook Video ‘Terrible’  —  President Obama said “we appear to have seen” a hate crime in the alleged attack on a Chicago man captured on Facebook.  —  “It's terrible,” the president said about the incident, during an interview with ABC affiliate WLS in Chicago.

Bill Perry Is Terrified.  Why Aren't You?  —  At this naked moment in the American experiment, when many people perceive civilization on the verge of blowing up in some metaphorical sense, there is an elderly man in California hoping to seize your attention about another possibility.

Everyday Authoritarianism is Boring and Tolerable  —  Malaysia is a country that I know well, and whose political system I have studied closely for fifteen years.  It is also a country whose political liberalization I have long awaited.  Malaysia has a multiparty parliamentary system of government …

Clinton vs. de Blasio for New York Mayor?  Unlikely Idea Has People Talking  —  From political circles in New York City to cocktail parties on Capitol Hill, on right-of-center Facebook pages and among left-of-center donors, two of the biggest untethered threads in New York politics are being drawn together around a single question.

The Latest: Arnold Schwarzenegger Responds to Trump Taunts  —  The Latest on President-elect Donald Trump (all times EST):  —  Arnold Schwarzenegger is responding to Donald Trump's taunting on Twitter.  The former California governor says the president-elect should work as hard to represent all Americans as he did for TV ratings.

Zion police back woman's account of alleged racial slur by Dairy Queen franchise owner  —  The Dairy Queen near Sheridan Road on 21st Street in Zion, where a woman's account of the owner using a racial slur toward her and her children has been backed by a Zion police report.

Trump makes calls against Kasich's pick for Ohio GOP chair  —  COLUMBUS - On Friday, President-elect Donald Trump and Gov. John Kasich will face off in their latest battle for the hearts and minds of Ohio Republicans — and Trump himself on Thursday entered the fray.

'Don't You Say That Again': Conway and Cuomo Get Into Transfixing War of Words Over Russia Hacks  —  In a meaty interview that raged on for the better part of twenty minutes this morning, CNN New Day anchor Chris Cuomo sparred with Kellyanne Conway of the Trump campaign on a wide variety of controversies …