Sen. Al Franken will resign, Democratic official says  —  A Democratic official who has spoken to Al Franken and key aides says Franken will resign his Minnesota Senate seat on Thursday, the official tells MPR News.  —  The official spoke to Franken and separately to Franken's staff.

Flynn Said Russian Sanctions Would be ‘Ripped Up,’ Whistle-Blower Says  —  WASHINGTON — Michael T. Flynn, President Trump's former national security adviser, told a former business associate that economic sanctions against Russia would be “ripped up” as one of the Trump administration's first acts …

Trump Jr. says he communicated with Hope Hicks, not his father, about Trump Tower response  —  (CNN)Donald Trump Jr. told House investigators that did not communicate directly with his father when confronted with news reports about his June 2016 Trump Tower meeting, according to multiple sources with knowledge of his testimony.

Trump Recognizes Jerusalem as Israel's Capital and Orders U.S. Embassy to Move  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump on Wednesday formally recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, reversing nearly seven decades of American foreign policy and setting in motion a plan to move the United States Embassy …

House rejects Trump impeachment resolution after Dem Rep. Al Green forces vote  —  The House of Representatives overwhelmingly rejected an attempt to impeach President Trump after a liberal Texas congressman forced a vote on his effort.  —  Democratic Rep. Al Green, who has repeatedly called …

John Conyers III arrested but not prosecuted in domestic abuse case  —  LOS ANGELES — John Conyers III, a Detroit hedge fund manager named as a possible successor to his scandal-rocked father, Rep. John Conyers, was arrested in Los Angeles this year on suspicion of domestic violence …

Fire closes I-405, rages near Bel Air, Getty museum in Los Angeles  —  Los Angeles (CNN)A new wildfire closed Interstate 405 early Wednesday near Los Angeles' posh Bel Air area and prompted evacuations — one in a series of blazes that have scorched more than 83,000 acres …

Kim Davis denied him a marriage license.  Now he wants to take her job.  —  MOREHEAD  —  David Ermold, one of the men denied a same-sex marriage license by Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis in 2015, hopes to challenge her for the clerk's seat next year, he announced Wednesday.

New contract for Roger Goodell has been signed  —  The Commissioner finally has a new contract.  —  Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the NFL's Compensation Committee has informed all owners that a new contract for Commissioner Roger Goodell has been executed.

‘Holy crap’: Experts find tax plan riddled with glitches  —  Republicans' tax-rewrite plans are riddled with bugs, loopholes and other potential problems that could plague lawmakers long after their legislation is signed into law.  —  Some of the provisions could be easily gamed, tax lawyers say.

Deutsche Bank Records Said to Be Subpoenaed by Mueller  —  Corrects Dec. 5 story that said subpoena ‘zeroed in’ on Trumps  —  Subpoena is said to seek information on affiliated people  —  Deutsche Bank AG provided records to special prosecutor Robert Mueller's investigation after receiving …

How a joke, and Mike Cernovich, got Sam Seder booted from MSNBC  —  In 2009, Sam Seder told a vulgar joke on Twitter that would eventually cost him a job he didn't yet have — and make him a target of a movement that didn't yet exist.  —  MSNBC said Monday that it will not renew Seder's contract …

Bannon on Romney: ‘You hid behind your religion’ to avoid Vietnam  —  Bannon hits Romney for avoiding Vietnam  —  STORY HIGHLIGHTS  —  Washington (CNN)Steve Bannon bashed Mitt Romney Tuesday night for, as he put it, hiding behind his religion to avoid getting drafted into the Vietnam War.

Paris Review Editor Resigns Amid Inquiry Into His Conduct with Women  —  Lorin Stein, the editor of The Paris Review, the prestigious magazine that for more than 60 years has acted as an international literary tastemaker, resigned on Wednesday, amid an internal investigation into his behavior toward female employees and writers.

The Silence Breakers are TIME's 2017 Person of the Year  —  TIME has named The Silence Breakers, the individuals who set off a national reckoning over the prevalence of sexual harassment, as its 2017 Person of the Year.  —  The magazine's editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal revealed …

I Made My Shed the Top Rated Restaurant On TripAdvisor  —  Once upon a time, long before I began selling my face by the acre for features on VICE dot com, I worked other jobs.  There was one in particular that really had an impact on me: writing fake reviews on TripAdvisor.

Trump wants LePage to challenge King in Maine Senate race  —  President Donald Trump is pushing Maine Gov. Paul LePage to run for the U.S. Senate, according to White House advisers.  —  Trump has told advisers he plans to call Mr. LePage, the bombastic governor who endorsed him in February 2016 …

House passes concealed carry gun bill  —  The House passed legislation to permit concealed carry license holders to conceal a handgun in other states.  —  The “Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act,” a top priority for the NRA and other gun-rights groups, passed 231-198.  Senate Democrats are expected to block the measure.

GOP leaders considering 22 percent corporate tax rate as deadlines near, sources say  —  Republican leaders, convinced they need to find new revenue in order to fund last-minute changes to the giant tax package moving through Congress, are looking at decreasing the size of their planned corporate tax cut …