N.J. aunt of Ft. Lauderdale airport shooting suspect: ‘He lost his mind’ in Iraq  —  Esteban Santiago with his newborn son.  (Family photo)  —  UNION CITY — The suspect in the Fort Lauderdale shooting was a U.S. military veteran who “lost his mind” after a tour of duty in Iraq, his aunt said Friday.

Trump Says Focus on Russian Hacking Is a ‘Political Witch Hunt’  —  WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald J. Trump said in an interview Friday morning that the storm surrounding Russian hacking during the presidential campaign is a political witch hunt being carried out by his adversaries …

Rand Paul: Trump ‘fully supports my plan to replace Obamacare’  —  Sen. Rand Paul on Friday said President-elect Donald Trump “fully supports” his plan to simultaneously repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.  —  “I just spoke to [Trump] and he fully supports my plan to replace Obamacare …

Dems try to voice objections as Congress certifies Trump's win … Several House Democrats tried to raise objections as a joint session of Congress met to formally count the Electoral College results certifying Donald Trump  —  's presidential election.  —  Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) …

Sex Attacks Up 62 Percent in Greenpoint as Most Cases Remain Unsolved  —  GREENPOINT — There has been a 62 percent jump in sex attacks reported in Greenpoint over the last year with the majority not resulting in arrests, police statistics show.  —  In 2016, the NYPD was told about 13 rapes …

Hillary Clinton possibly mulling a run for New York City mayor, source says  —  Hillary Clinton left open the possibility of running for mayor of New York City this year in a private conversation with a top Democrat, a well-placed source told the Daily News.

Hill Republicans embrace building of border wall, despite cost  —  Republicans on Capitol Hill say they don't need to wait for Mexico to make good on President-elect Donald Trump's central campaign promise: building a southern border wall.  —  In fact, they are happy to underwrite the wall themselves …

Inside the Rise of the “Breitbart of the Left”  —  David Brock, the conservative apostate turned liberal agitator, lays out his plans for the future of the Internet for progressives.  “We're going to go after spineless Democrats who want to make nice with Trump.”

Leon Panetta: Donald Trump should not be tweeting intelligence criticism  —  In an exclusive interview with TODAY's Matt Lauer, former CIA director Leon Panetta said Donald Trump's criticism of the intelligence community should be done privately “in the confines of the Oval Office” instead of questioning its veracity on social media.

I have some exciting news to share.  This month I will be joining Facebook to lead its News Partnerships team.  This is a different role for me, but one where I will be tapping my newsroom experience to help news organizations and journalists work more closely and more effectively with Facebook.

Trump Nominees' Filings Threaten to Overwhelm Federal Ethics Office  —  WASHINGTON — Rex W. Tillerson owns more than $50 million of Exxon Mobil stock, has earned an annual salary of $10 million and holds a range of positions — from director at the Boy Scouts of America to the managing director of a Texas horse and cattle ranch.

Rethinking Faculty Hiring At Fourth-Tier Law Schools  —  Philip L. Merkel (Western State), Scholar or Practitioner?  Rethinking Qualifications for Entry-Level Tenure-Track Professors at Fourth-Tier Law Schools, 44 Cap.  U. L. Rev. 507 (2016):  —  [M]any fourth-tier law schools have lost their way.

Third lien on Trump hotel brings alleged unpaid bills to over $5 million  —  Workers from AES Electrical apparently went all out to make sure Donald Trump could open his luxury hotel on the day he wanted.  —  In the frenzied final six weeks of work at the hotel, while Trump touted the project …

In campus rape cases, colleges to learn sexual advances go both ways  —  Aaron Farrer was expelled from Indiana University in Nov. 2015 for allegedly sexually assaulting a female student.  Farrer is now suing the university for violating his rights and suing his accuser for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

How Trump got his party to love Russia  —  The two types of Republicans who abandoned onetime opposition to support Vladimir Putin.  —  For decades, anti-communism united conservatives behind the Republican Party.  An otherwise disparate collection of national security hawks …

Trump's EPA Pick Steps Down From Group That Battled the Agency  —  Scott Pruitt resigned as chairman of Rule of Law Defense Fund  —  Senate Democrats are seeking more information on the group  —  President-elect Donald Trump's pick to run the Environmental Protection Agency has resigned …