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 …

Republicans finalize plan, expand benefits for working families in bid to win over Rubio … Congressional Republicans finished rewriting their massive plan to overhaul the tax code on Friday, adding in a significant expansion of the Child Tax Credit aimed at boosting benefits for low-income families.

Ashley Judd responds to Peter Jackson's claims on Harvey Weinstein blacklist  —  Film producer Weinstein is facing multiple allegations of sexual misconduct by Hollywood actresses.  —  Ashley Judd has spoken out after Sir Peter Jackson said the Weinstein brothers orchestrated a smear campaign …

Trump judicial nominee fumbles basic questions about the law  —  Nomination hearings for U.S. district judges tend to be dry affairs that offer little in the way of mass entertainment — in other words, they're not typically the stuff of viral videos.  —  But a clip of one of President …

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

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.

Deutsche Bank Was Asked for Information on Transactions Potentially Linked to Michael Flynn  —  Request was part of U.S. special counsel investigation  —  Deutsche Bank AG has been asked by U.S. government authorities to hand over information about transactions that could be linked …

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.

Trump initiated Putin call in the wake of economic praise  —  Putin praises Trump, slams Russia probe  —  STORY HIGHLIGHTS  — “He said very nice things about what I have done for this country in terms of the economy,” Trump said  — “We would love to have his help on North Korea.

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.

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.

G.O.P. Establishment Declares Open Season on a Weakened Bannon  —  WASHINGTON — A small group of conservative leaders had gathered in the Trump International Hotel last week for a friendly discussion about the year that was ending and their priorities for the year to come, when Stephen K. Bannon spoke up.

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?

New Mexico School Shooter Had Secret Life on Pro-Trump White-Supremacy Sites … In real life, William Edward Atchison—people called him Bill—lived in a little yellow house with his parents, about a mile away from the Giant gas station where he worked and from Aztec High School …

‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ Review  —  Remixing the structure of the originals with the aesthetics of the prequels  —  The following piece of criticism will include the discussion of plot points and the fates of characters; please do not complain to me about spoilers if you read beyond this sentence.

Inside Matt Lauer's Secret Relationship With a ‘Today’ Production Assistant (EXCLUSIVE)  —  In 1999, Addie Collins arrived at NBC's “Today” as a young intern with big aspirations.  A few months later, she landed her dream job as production assistant, forming close bonds with her new colleagues Katie Couric, Ann Curry and Al Roker.

Federal judge blocks Trump rollback of ObamaCare birth control mandate  —  A federal judge in Pennsylvania temporarily blocked the Trump administration's recent rules allowing moral and religious exceptions for ObamaCare's birth control requirement.  —  The injunction comes …

Al Franken continues working while departure date unclear  —  STORY HIGHLIGHTS  —  Washington (CNN)Even though he announced he would resign within “the coming weeks” amid accusations he groped women, Sen. Al Franken is still reporting for duty to Capitol Hill with no departure date set.

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.

Americans pessimistic about Trump, country: AP-NORC Poll  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump frequently casts his first year in office as a string of successes and campaign promises fulfilled.  But less than a quarter of Americans think Trump has made good on the pledges he made to voters …

Senate parliamentarian strikes language allowing churches to endorse candidates from tax bill  —  The Senate parliamentarian has blocked language repealing the Johnson Amendment and allowing churches and 501(c)3 nonprofits to endorse candidates and engage in partisan politics from inclusion in the tax bill.

Donald Trump just compared legal immigrants on diversity visas to trash  —  Trump's always distrusted legal immigrants — and he's trying to turn America against them, too.  —  Donald Trump thinks immigrants are trash, metaphorically speaking.  —  Not just unauthorized immigrants.

Labor Board Reverses Ruling That Helped Workers Fight Chains  —  The National Labor Relations Board on Thursday overturned a key Obama-era precedent that had given workers significant leverage in challenging companies like fast-food and hotel chains over labor practices.