4 arrested in beating broadcast on Facebook Live  —  (CNN)A young woman who broadcast the beating and racial taunting of a man on Facebook Live has been arrested with three others in connection with the gruesome attack, Chicago police said Wednesday.  —  The disturbing 30-minute video shows …

House Republicans revive obscure rule that could allow them to slash the pay of individual federal workers to $1  —  House Republicans this week reinstated an arcane procedural rule that enables lawmakers to reach deep into the budget and slash the pay of an individual federal worker …

Greta Van Susteren to join MSNBC  —  Greta Van Susteren is joining MSNBC, taking over the channel's 6 p.m. time slot with a new show called “For the Record,” the network announced Thursday.  —  Van Susteren's show will feature both news and analysis, working as a bridge from MSNBC's dayside news shows …

Trump expected to name ex-senator Dan Coats as director of national intelligence  —  President-elect Donald Trump is expected to name former senator Dan Coats (R-Ind.) to be his director of national intelligence, according to a Trump transition team official.

Democratic lawmakers considering challenge to Trump's Electoral College victory  —  Several House Democrats are weighing a formal challenge to Donald Trump's election on Friday, when Congress meets in joint session to certify Trump's Electoral College victory.

Trump's Debts Are Widely Held on Wall Street, Creating New Potential Conflicts  —  More than 150 financial institutions hold debts connected to president-elect, analysis shows  —  The debts of President-elect Donald Trump and his businesses are scattered across Wall Street banks …

Planned Parenthood would lose funding as part of Obamacare repeal, Ryan says  —  Republicans plan to strip Planned Parenthood of hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding as part of their rapid push to repeal President Obama's health-care reforms, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan said Thursday.

Donald Trump, Julian Assange, and the Control of the Republican Mind  —  The cruelest, most condescending, and also devastatingly correct indictment of Donald Trump's supporters was uttered not by a member of the liberal media but by Donald Trump himself, when he mentioned that he could shoot somebody …

The Health Care Plan Trump Voters Really Want  —  This week Republicans in Congress began their effort to repeal and potentially replace the Affordable Care Act.  But after listening to working-class supporters of Donald J. Trump — people who are enrolled in the very health care marketplaces created …

2017: At the Dawn of the Age of Trump  —  It's already clear that the very strange political year of 2016 is bleeding over into the New Year.  How could it be otherwise?  President-elect Donald Trump, loved and hated by about equal numbers of Americans, continues to ignore or break with convention in a wide variety of areas.

Seven Tests That Can Keep Republicans from Screwing Up  —  It didn't take long for Republicans to make their first tin-eared mistake after winning a broad victory in November.  In fact, they had barely opened the new session of Congress before performing a pratfall that called into question whether …

Trump's Systematic Attack on U.S. Institutions  —  There is no T-E-A-M in “I.”  —  This was the obvious lesson as Donald Trump sold out House Republicans this week.  GOP members had sought to quietly defang an anti-corruption watchdog office.  After angry constituents phoned House offices …

The Cheapest Cocktail at the Trump Hotel Is Now $24  —  And you thought the $14 cocktail was too pricey?  The Trump hotel's lobby bar has raised its cocktail prices yet again.  The cheapest option now is $24, while the most expensive is $100.  —  It's safe to say the Trump hotel's Benjamin Bar & Lounge …

GOP aims to rein in liberal cities  —  After consolidating power in Washington, D.C. and state capitals under President-elect Donald Trump  —  , Republicans are moving to prevent large cities dominated by Democrats from enacting sweeping liberal agendas.  —  Republican state legislatures …

Less shrinkage: This is your aging brain on the Mediterranean diet  —  The study looked at a group of 562 Scots in their 70s over a three-year period.  Those whose eating habits resembled the diet experienced, on average, half the brain shrinkage that was normal for the group.  (Jan. 5, 2017)

Former Bush operative Matthew Dowd mulls challenging Cruz for Senate  —  Matthew Dowd, a longtime Texas operative in both Republican and Democratic politics, is considering running against U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.  —  WASHINGTON — Matthew Dowd, an Austin-based television news commentator …