CDC gets list of forbidden words: fetus, transgender, diversity … The Trump administration is prohibiting officials at the nation's top public health agency from using a list of seven words or phrases — including “fetus” and “transgender” — in any official documents being prepared for next year's budget.

Trump lawyers set for key meeting with special counsel next week  —  STORY HIGHLIGHTS  —  (CNN)President Donald Trump's private lawyers are slated to meet with special counsel Robert Mueller and members of his team as soon as next week for what the President's team considers an opportunity …

Kansas Dem Andrea Ramsey, accused of sexual harassment, will drop out of US House race  —  McClatchy Washington Bureau and The Kansas City Star  —  WASHINGTON  —  Andrea Ramsey, a Democratic candidate for Congress, will drop out of the race after the Kansas City Star asked her about accusations …

Executive at Consultancy Hired by E.P.A. Scrutinized Agency Employees Critical of Trump  —  One of the top executives of a consulting firm that the Environmental Protection Agency has hired to help it with media affairs has spent the past year investigating agency employees who have been critical …

Republicans Are Set to Release Compromise Tax Bill  —  WASHINGTON — Republican lawmakers have agreed to expand the child care tax credit so that it benefits more low-income Americans, a move intended to win back the support of Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, who on Thursday said he would not vote …

Peter Jackson: I blacklisted Ashley Judd and Mira Sorvino under pressure from Weinstein … Film director Peter Jackson has admitted to blacklisting actors Ashley Judd and Mira Sorvino in response to a “smear campaign” orchestrated by accused sexual predator Harvey Weinstein.

Kushner's legal team looks to hire crisis public relations firm  —  Senior White House official Jared Kushner and his legal team are searching for a crisis public relations firm, according to four people familiar with the matter.  —  Kushner's lawyer, Abbe Lowell, has quietly called at least two firms, these people said.

Exclusive: Prominent lawyer sought donor cash for two Trump accusers  —  A well-known women's rights lawyer sought to arrange compensation from donors and tabloid media outlets for women who made or considered making sexual misconduct allegations against Donald Trump

Hard Questions: Is Spending Time on Social Media Bad for Us?  —  By David Ginsberg, Director of Research, and Moira Burke, Research Scientist at Facebook  —  With people spending more time on social media, many rightly wonder whether that time is good for us.  Do people connect in meaningful ways online?

Panthers' statement on internal investigation  —  The Carolina Panthers today announced it has commenced an internal investigation into allegations of workplace misconduct against the team's owner and founder, Jerry Richardson.  The investigation is being led by the outside international law …

Republicans unveil final version of tax bill  —  Republicans late Friday afternoon unveiled the final text of their bill to rewrite the tax code, which they are racing to send to President Trump  —  's desk before Christmas.  —  Like the bills that came before it, the legislation produced …

Trump judicial nominee struggles to answer basic legal questions at hearing  —  Washington (CNN)A Trump judicial nominee struggled to answer basic legal questions posed to him by a Republican senator on Wednesday, including his lack of experience on trial work, the amount of depositions he'd worked on and more.

Harlem Shook: Google Is Using Its Immense Power To Censor Content That Doesn't Fit Its Political Goals.  Everyone In America Should Be Concerned About That  —  The Daily Caller released a funny video Tuesday of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai defending the commission's upcoming net-neutrality rollback.

Nine more women say judge subjected them to inappropriate behavior, including four who say he touched or kissed them  —  Nine more women say that Alex Kozinski — a high-profile judge who sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit — subjected them to sexual comments or other conduct …

Black conservatives reel after Omarosa resigns  —  WASHINGTON — When the White House senior staff convened Friday for a regular briefing, there was not one black person among the roughly 30 people gathered, and few minorities overall.  —  The departure Wednesday of Omarosa Manigault …

Fox News Women Furious Over Rupert Murdoch Comments On Sexual Misconduct  —  The media mogul said claims of rampant sexual harassment at the network are “nonsense.”  —  Current and former female Fox News employees say they are stunned, disgusted and “hungry for justice” …

This Tax Bill Is a Trillion-Dollar Blunder  —  Congress and President Trump put politics ahead of smart reform.  —  Last month a Wall Street Journal editor asked a room full of CEOs to raise their hands if the corporate tax cut being considered in Congress would lead them to invest more.

A Federal Judge Just Blocked The Trump Administration's Contraception Coverage Rules  —  A judge in Pennsylvania put a temporary, nationwide block on Trump's rules creating exceptions for no-cost contraception coverage, saying that they could potentially cause women “enormous and irreversible” harm.

How Putin's proxies helped funnel millions into GOP campaigns  —  As Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team probes deeper into potential collusion between Trump officials and representatives of the Russian government, investigators are taking a closer look at political contributions made by U.S. citizens with close ties to Russia.

Breitbart editor-in-chief: We had to defend Roy Moore from child molestation accusations to protect Trump from his accusers  —  ALEX MARLOW (HOST): In hindsight guys, look, it's a — there was no option at Breitbart — and I will try to articulate this over and over.

House Intelligence Panel Is Rushing to Complete Russia Probe  —  WASHINGTON — The House Intelligence Committee is racing to complete its investigation of Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election, scheduling a host of witness interviews here and in New York for next week …

Mattis shoots down report Trump chills Russia talk  —  Pentagon Secretary James Mattis didn't borrow his boss's favorite phrase to refute a Washington Post report that President Trump doesn't want to hear about Russia from his intel chiefs, but he might as well have called it fake news.

GOP Senators unanimous in support for tax bill  —  So reports Jibran Khan at NRO's Corner.  Senators Rubio and Scott have fallen into line, having secured an increase in the child tax credit refund.  No surprise there.  —  But here's a surprise, at least to me.

A journey through a land of extreme poverty: welcome to America  —  The Guardian joined him on a special two-week mission into the dark heart of the world's richest nation  —  Los Angeles, California, 5 December  —  “You got a choice to make, man.  You could go straight on to heaven.