Exclusive: Email shows effort to give Trump campaign WikiLeaks documents  —  STORY HIGHLIGHTS  —  Washington (CNN)Candidate Donald Trump, his son Donald Trump Jr. and others in the Trump Organization received an email in September 2016 offering a decryption key and website address …

Roy Moore accuser Beverly Young Nelson ‘scared to go anywhere’ since her sexual assault allegation  —  One of the women accusing Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore of sexual misconduct, Beverly Young Nelson, told ABC News it “sickens” her to think what might happen if Moore is elected to the U.S. Senate.

The G.O.P. Is Rotting  —  A lot of good, honorable Republicans used to believe there was a safe middle ground.  You didn't have to tie yourself hip to hip with Donald Trump, but you didn't have to go all the way to the other extreme and commit political suicide like the dissident Jeff Flake, either.

Trump's Allies Urge Harder Line as Mueller Probe Heats Up  —  President's legal team had predicted investigation would clear Trump by year's end  —  A Russia investigation that Donald Trump's legal team predicted would clear the president by year's end looks to stretch into 2018 …

I study liars.  I've never seen one like President Trump.  —  He tells far more lies, and far more cruel ones, than ordinary people do.  —  President Trump speaks at the White House on Wednesday.  (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)  —  I spent the first two decades of my career …

Arizona Congressman Resigns for —Wait, What Was That Again?  —  When word got around this afternoon that Representative Trent Franks (R-AZ) was about to resign for “inappropriate behavior,” it was generally assumed it involved sexual harassment, abuse, assault, or some other misconduct toward women.

Congressional Democrats Left Out of White House Hanukkah Party  —  WASHINGTON — The latkes were fried and the kosher lamb chops were prepared on Thursday, just as in past years, for the first White House Hanukkah party of the Trump era.  But there was one prominent break with tradition …

George Papadopoulos' fiancee: He's a patriot, not a Trump campaign coffee boy  —  The Italian fiancee of George Papadopoulos offered the first public defense of the embattled former Trump campaign adviser, who in October was revealed as the first campaign adviser to plead guilty and cooperate with the special counsel's Russia probe.

Lauer's “Double Life”: Inside NBC, the Network Is Trying to Expunge the Lauer Era  —  NBC executives have moved swiftly and adroitly to clean up Lauer's mess.  The question that remains, however, is if they are in for any surprises.  —  By Friday evening, for the employees of NBC News …

Sarah Silverman ‘Felt Very Weird,’ ‘Scared,’ ‘Shaken’ By Seeing American Flag Flown in Yard  —  We're only one episode away from finishing the first season I Love You, America With Sarah Silverman, and the end can't get here fast enough for me.  Until then, we still must suffer through yet …

Collins' Obamacare deal faces moment of truth  —  House conservatives thumb their nose at the Maine moderate's bid to slow the demise of the health law.  —  Sen. Susan Collins is barreling toward yet another health care showdown with her own party.  But this time, she might not have the leverage to get what she wants.

Dossier author was in contact with Obama Justice Department  —  It's been ten months since Washington learned that former British spy Christopher Steele, author of the so-called “Trump dossier,” took the Hillary Clinton-funded opposition research document to the FBI, which considered sponsoring …

Inside a secret 2014 list of hundreds of L.A. deputies with histories of misconduct  —  It was a critical piece of evidence: an inmate's shirt, bloodied from a jailhouse brawl.  —  When it went missing, Deputy Jose Ovalle had an idea.  —  He picked out a similar shirt …

Lord's Prayer: Pope Francis calls for change  —  Pope Francis has called for a translation of a phrase about temptation in the Lord's Prayer to be changed.  —  The current wording that says “lead us not into temptation” is not a good translation because God does not lead humans to sin, he says.

The Bitcoin Whales: 1,000 People Who Own 40 Percent of the Market  —  A few massive investors can rock it with a shrug.  —  On Nov. 12, someone moved almost 25,000 bitcoins, worth about $159 million at the time, to an online exchange.  The news soon rippled through online forums …

Private War: Erik Prince Has His Eye On Afghanistan's Rare Metals  —  BuzzFeed News is publishing the slide presentation by the founder of Blackwater to privatize the Afghan war and mine Afghanistan's valuable minerals.  He pitched the proposal to the Trump administration.

Trump's richest friends are asking for changes to the GOP tax plan, and he's listening … Some of President Trump's wealthiest New York friends have launched a last-minute campaign to pressure him for changes to the GOP tax bill, telling the president personally that the current plan would drive up their taxes and hurt his home state.

Poll Shows Trump's Support Dropping Among White Evangelicals  —  The president's approval rating continues to fall in his first year in office.  —  A new national Pew Research Center poll released Thursday shows that President Donald Trump's approval rating is declining among demographic groups …

‘Evil’ Tax Cuts?  Nope, It's Blue-State Panic  —  Wealthy blue-state foes of the GOP tax bill face a harsh look in the mirror.  —  Ah, the holiday season.  It's a magical time, bursting with joy and merriment, the laughter of children, jolly parties, twinkling lights …

NKY gay couple assaulted due to their sexual orientation, police say  —  Kenton County prosecutor says the case may be considered a hate crime  —  COVINGTON —  A gay couple is speaking out about a brutal assault police say happened at least partially because of their sexual orientation.

Southern California ‘like a war zone’ as raging wildfires grow … CARPINTERIA, Calif. — Wildfires continued to ravage Southern California for a fifth day Friday, with growing blazes and new fires sending rivers of flames through communities and injuring several people.

Brexit: ‘Breakthrough’ deal paves way for future trade talks  —  PM Theresa May has struck a last minute deal with the EU in a bid to move Brexit talks on to the next phase.  —  There will be no “hard border” with Ireland and EU citizens in the UK, and UK citizens in the EU, will see their rights protected.

Trump's ‘fake news’ mantra a hit with despots  —  Authoritarian rulers across the globe are adopting President Donald Trump's favorite phrase to limit free speech, with prominent leaders or state media in at least 15 countries using his “fake news” line to denounce their critics, according to a POLITICO review.