The Senate's Russia Investigation Is Now Looking Into Jill Stein, A Former Campaign Staffer Says  —  The Senate Intelligence Committee has asked Green Party candidate Jill Stein's campaign to turn over documents, a former employee says.  Stein is expected to release them publicly as well.

Trump predicts exoneration in Russia investigation as allies fear a ‘meltdown’  —  STORY HIGHLIGHTS  —  Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump is privately striking a less agitated tone on the Russia investigation, sources say, even insisting he'll soon be cleared in writing.

Track Palin, son of former Gov. Sarah Palin, arrested for assaulting his father  —  PALMER — Track Palin, the 28-year-old son of former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, was arrested on assault and burglary charges after he repeatedly hit his father, Todd Palin, at the family home Saturday, charging documents say.

Trump Judicial Nominee Drops Out After Embarrassing Hearing, Per Senate Aide  —  Matthew Petersen is the president's third court pick to crash and burn over not being qualified to be a federal judge.  —  WASHINGTON President Donald Trump's judicial nominee Matthew Petersen has withdrawn …

Amtrak train hurtles off overpass; at least 6 people killed  —  DUPONT, Wash. (AP) — An Amtrak train making the first-ever run along a faster new route hurtled off an overpass at an estimated 80 mph Monday south of Seattle and spilled some of its cars onto the highway below, killing at least six people, authorities said.

U.S. declares North Korea carried out massive WannaCry cyberattack  —  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (Korea News Service via Associated Press)  —  The U.S. government is publicly acknowledging that North Korea was behind the WannaCry computer worm that affected more than 230,000 computers in over 150 countries earlier this year.

Franken urged to reverse his resignation  —  At least four senators are urging Al Franken to reconsider resigning, including two who issued statements calling for the resignation two weeks ago and said they now feel remorse over what they feel was a rush to judgment.

In FBI Agent's Account, ‘Insurance Policy’ Text Referred to Russia Probe  —  Agent's text was meant to convey the FBI needed to aggressively investigate allegations of collusion between Trump's campaign and Russia  —  An FBI agent's reference to “an insurance policy” in a much-debated text message …

The Hall of Presidents Reopens at the Walt Disney World Resort After Year-Long Transformation  —  Following a year-long transformation, The Hall of Presidents will officially reopen at Magic Kingdom Park on Tuesday, December 19, with enhancements that will bring the story of the American presidency to life as never before.

The Republican tax bill got worse: now the top 1% gets 83% of the gains  —  In its last year, the bill raises taxes on more than 53 percent of Americans.  —  By 2027, more than half of all Americans — 53 percent — would pay more in taxes under the tax bill agreed to by House and Senate Republicans …

Jennifer Rubin Is Everything She Hates about Trump Worshippers  —  The Washington Post columnist stands out among Trump-obsessed zealots who add nothing to our discourse.  —  The era of Trump has been as hard on the mind as it has been good for the muscles in the chest.

Rebelling Republican Suburbs Offer Democrats Path to House Control  —  HOUSTON — As she sat with a glass of sauvignon blanc waiting for a women-focused Democratic fund-raiser to begin, Nancy Sharp let loose in a Texas-seasoned drawl why she and so many other onetime supporters of the Bush family were abandoning the Republicans.

Final Tax Bill Could End Up Costing $2.2 Trillion  —  The final conference committee agreement of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) would cost $1.46 trillion under conventional scoring and over $1 trillion on a dynamic basis over ten years, leading debt to rise to between 95 percent and 98 percent …

Enforcing New Rules to Reduce Hateful Conduct and Abusive Behavior  —  Today, we will start enforcing updates to the Twitter Rules announced last month to reduce hateful and abusive content on Twitter.  Through our policy development process, we've taken a collaborative approach to develop …

News Regarding John Skipper  —  ESPN President John Skipper announced today that he is resigning from his position, citing a substance addiction problem.  Former ESPN President and Executive Chairman George Bodenheimer (who worked at ESPN from 1981-2014) will serve as Acting Chair of the company …

I Turned My Coworker Into HR When She Gave Me A Christmas Card, And She Changed My Heart  —  For years I have been one of the only Jewish people at my places of employment.  I am currently the only Jew who wears a kippah at my office every day.  In my heavily Southern Baptist and rural town …

Internal FCC Report Shows Republican Net Neutrality Narrative Is False  —  The story of net neutrality as an Obama-led takeover of the internet was refuted by an Inspector General investigation whose findings were not made public prior to Thursday's vote.  —  A core Republican talking point during …

House to unveil massive $81 billion disaster aid package  —  The House plans to release a staggering $81 billion disaster aid package, the largest single funding request for natural calamities in U.S. history.  —  If approved, Congress will have spent more than $130 billion on a spate …

Mueller makes reckless move with seizure of Trump transition emails  —  BY JONATHAN TURLEY, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR — 12/18/17 07:00 AM EST THE VIEWS EXPRESSED BY CONTRIBUTORS ARE THEIR OWN AND NOT THE VIEW OF THE HILL  —  J. Edgar Hoover used to say that “justice is just incidental to law and order.”