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.

Another woman says Franken tried to forcibly kiss her  —  A former Democratic congressional aide said Al Franken tried to forcibly kiss her after a taping of his radio show in 2006, three years before he became a U.S. senator.  —  The aide, whose name POLITICO is withholding to protect her identity …

Weinstein's Complicity Machine  —  HARVEY WEINSTEIN BUILT his complicity machine out of the witting, the unwitting and those in between.  He commanded enablers, silencers and spies, warning others who discovered his secrets to say nothing.  He courted those who could provide the money …

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 …

‘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.

Respect ‘status quo’ of Jerusalem, says Pope in response to Trump move  —  VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis, speaking hours before U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement on Jerusalem, called on Wednesday for the city's “status quo” to be respected, saying new tension in the Middle East would further inflame world conflicts.

Donald Trump Jr. asked Russian lawyer for info on Clinton Foundation  —  Donald Trump Jr. asked a Russian lawyer at the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting whether she had evidence of illegal donations to the Clinton Foundation, the lawyer told the Senate Judiciary Committee in answers to written questions obtained exclusively by NBC News.

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 …

Doctors identify brain abnormalities in Cuba attack patients  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — Doctors treating the U.S. Embassy victims of mysterious, invisible attacks in Cuba have discovered brain abnormalities as they search for clues to explain the hearing, vision, balance and memory damage, The Associated Press has learned.

Consumer Bureau's New Leader Steers a Sudden Reversal  —  The defanging of a federal consumer watchdog agency began last week in a federal courthouse in San Francisco.  —  After a nearly three-year legal skirmish, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau appeared to have been victorious.

Double-crossing FBI agent must be held accountable  —  FBI investigator Peter Strzok not only let Hillary Clinton off the hook, he may have used Democratic Party opposition research as an excuse to spy on Trump campaign advisers.  —  Strzok became such a political liability …

AP Exclusive: Top gossip editor accused of sexual misconduct  —  NEW YORK (AP) — The top editor for the National Enquirer, Us Weekly and other major gossip publications openly described his sexual partners in the newsroom, discussed female employees' sex lives and forced women to watch …

I Saw the Kate Steinle Murder Trial Up Close.  The Jury Didn't Botch It.  —  I was an alternate juror in the Kate Steinle murder trial in San Francisco.  I didn't get a vote, but I saw all of the evidence and the jury instructions, and I discussed the verdict with the jury after it was delivered.

Everyone's falling out of love with the bipartisan ACA bill  —  Just a few weeks ago, the Affordable Care Act stabilization bill from Sens. Lamar Alexander and Patty Murray looked like a common-sense fix with a decent shot at finding its way into Congress' big end-of-the-year package.

Tax Plan Crowns a Big Winner: Trump's Industry  —  After a frenzy of congressional action to rewrite the tax code, salesclerks and chief executives are calculating their gains.  Business was treated with the everyone's-a-winner approach that ensures no summer camper goes home without a trophy.

Atlanta Mayoral Race Poised to Move to a Recount  —  ATLANTA — For the second time in eight years, the mayoralty of the South's most influential city is likely to head to a recount.  —  Fewer than 800 votes separated Keisha Lance Bottoms and Mary Norwood after local officials tallied …

Conyers faced mounting sexual misconduct allegations as he weighed his future  —  As Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) this week weighed calls for his resignation from a Michigan hospital bed, more women were coming forward with accounts of sexual misconduct by the lawmaker.

Trump's voter fraud commission plans to create a massive voter database.  Former national security officials say it could be hacked.  —  More than a half-dozen technology experts and former national security officials filed an amicus brief Tuesday urging a federal court to halt the collection …

More charges could be coming against former Trump aide in Russia probe  —  Manafort, Gates remain under house arrest  —  (CNN)Robert Mueller may not be through with Rick Gates, a deputy Trump campaign aide and one of the four people who have been charged as part of the special counsel probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

‘They all knew’: Media elites roared in laughter at obscene 2008 ‘roast’ sending up Matt Lauer's office sexcapades  —  UNITED STATES - OCTOBER 24: Ann Curry ,Matt Lauer and Meredith Rivera at the NY Friars Club “Roast” of Matt Lauer held in the Hilton Hotel (Photo by Richard Corkery/NY Daily …

The White House press briefing, always a spin zone, is now approaching uselessness  —  Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders rejected the notion that the White House frequently is untruthful.  “We believe the truth is fundamental and to suggest otherwise is outrageously insulting,” she said by email.

China's Aircraft Carriers Have a Menace: Jellyfish Swarms  —  Scientists invented a net lined with blades—seriously— to deal with the swarms that are fouling up China's warships.  —  One of China's most intractable enemies doesn't even have a vertebrae—or a brain.