CNN/ORC Poll: Confidence drops in Trump transition  —  Washington (CNN)Donald Trump will become president Friday with an approval rating of just 40%, according to a new CNN/ORC Poll, the lowest of any recent president and 44 points below that of President Barack Obama, the 44th president.

As GOP Pushes Repeal, Obamacare Has Never Been More Popular: NBC News/WSJ poll  —  As Republicans get closer to repealing it, President Barack Obama's federal health-care law — or Obamacare — has never been more popular, according to results from a new national NBC News/Wall Street Journal.

How Repealing Portions of the Affordable Care Act Would Affect Health Insurance Coverage and Premiums  —  CBO reports on the estimated changes in health insurance coverage and premiums that would result from leaving the Affordable Care Act's insurance market reforms in place while repealing the law's mandate penalties and subsidies.

LePage says civil rights icon John Lewis should thank Lincoln for freeing the slaves  —  During his weekly radio appearance, the governor said that U.S. Rep. John Lewis should also thank presidents Rutherford Hayes and Ulysses Grant.  —  Listen to Gov. LePage's comments on WVOM.

Obama Commutes Bulk of Chelsea Manning's Sentence  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama on Tuesday largely commuted the remaining prison sentence of Chelsea Manning, the army intelligence analyst convicted of an enormous 2010 leak that revealed American military and diplomatic activities across the world …

Putin Says Doesn't Believe Trump Met Prostitutes in Russia  —  Attacks on Trump seek to undermine election result, Putin says  —  Unsubstantiated claims are ‘obvious fabrications,’ Putin says  —  Russian President Vladimir Putin said he doesn't believe that U.S. President-elect Donald Trump met …

The Most Successful Democrat Since F.D.R.  —  When Barack Obama ran for president in 2008, he understood, without quite saying it, that there had been no highly successful Democratic president in decades.  —  Bill Clinton made the country a better place, but his biggest legislative plans failed and he was beset by scandal.

U.S. Abortion Rate Falls To Lowest Level Since Roe v. Wade  —  The abortion rate in the United States fell to its lowest level since the historic Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalized abortion nationwide, a new report finds.  —  The report by the Guttmacher Institute …

Hair stylist to Marla Maples: No free services in exchange for Inauguration Day ‘exposure’  —  Though Donald Trump and his family project an image of boundless wealth, a Washington-based hairstylist says the president-elect's second wife tried to get out of paying her to style her tresses …

‘He Is Going to Test Our Democracy as It Has Never Been Tested’  —  Sometime early last fall, John Dean says he began having nightmares about a Trump presidency.  He would wake in the middle of the night, agitated and alarmed, struggling to calm his nerves.

Boom: Trump eyes 10% spending cuts, 20% slash of federal workers  —  Making good on a promise to slash government, President-elect Trump has asked his incoming team to pursue spending and staffing cuts.  —  Insiders said that the spending reductions in some departments could go as high …

Disregard all those farewells: Obama isn't really leaving  —  Donald Trump will give his closely watched inaugural address this week.  It will be a great one.  Trust him.  Fantastic, even.  Possibly beyond belief.  Because he's a great speech-giver.  Everyone knows that.  He does, too.

Fort Lauderdale shooter says he carried out attack for ISIS, FBI claims  —  Fort Lauderdale, Florida (CNN)Esteban Santiago, the man charged with killing five people at the Fort Lauderdale airport, told FBI agents he carried out the attack on behalf of ISIS, FBI special agent Michael Ferlazzo testified at Santiago's bond hearing Tuesday.

New York Times Study Calls for Rapid Change in Newsroom  —  The New York Times has deftly adapted to the demands of digital journalism, but it needs to change even more quickly, according to an internal report that recommends the company expand training for reporters and editors …

Artwork depicting cops as animals permanently removed from Capitol complex  —  Capitol authorities permanently removed the controversial student painting depicting a confrontation between black protesters and police officers portrayed as animals early Tuesday morning.

CIA Director John Brennan Rejects Donald Trump's Criticism  —  Outgoing CIA Director John Brennan rejected Donald Trump's suggestions that he may have leaked an unsubstantiated dossier on the president-elect while defending the U.S. intelligence community more broadly.

The Alt-Right Comes to Washington  —  East Lansing, Michigan—Lounging at the back of his tour bus in a parking lot behind the Springhill Suites, Milo Yiannopoulos, the flamboyant right-wing British provocateur known for his bleach-blond frosted tips and relentless campaign against Islam …

‘Shattered’ to tell story of Clinton's failed presidential bid  —  Crown will release a new book about Hillary Clinton  —  's failed bid for the White House on April 18 co-authored by The Hill's White House correspondent Amie Parnes.  —  “Shattered” is a follow-up to 'HRC …

Betsy DeVos Wants to Use America's Schools to Build “God's Kingdom”  —  It's Christmastime in Holland, Michigan, and the northerly winds from Lake Macatawa bring a merciless chill to the small city covered in deep snow.  The sparkly lights on the trees in downtown luxury storefronts illuminate …