Democrat wins Va. House seat in recount by single vote, creating 50-50 tie in legislature  —  NEWPORT NEWS — A Republican seat flipped Democratic in a wild recount Tuesday - with the Democrat winning by a single vote - creating a rare 50-50 tie between the parties in the House of Delegates …

Public opposition to tax bill grows as vote approaches  —  STORY HIGHLIGHTS  — Trump's 35% approval is a new low in CNN polling, below previous first-year presidents at this point  —  WASHINGTON (CNN)With the House of Representatives set to vote on the Republican tax reform bill Tuesday …

House will have to vote for tax-cut bill again  —  House Republicans will need to pass their tax plan for a second time after the Senate parliamentarian ruled that provisions in the bill violated the rules governing the legislation.  —  “Members are advised that we expect Senate Democrats …

Democrats unlikely to force DACA vote this week, probably averting shutdown  —  Democrats are backing away from a pledge to force a vote this month over the fate of thousands of undocumented immigrants brought to this country as children, angering activists but likely averting the threat …

Collins decries coverage of her tax bill support as ‘unbelievably sexist’  —  The Maine Republican decried the media coverage as premature and unfair.  —  Sen. Susan Collins on Tuesday blasted coverage of her support for the GOP tax bill as “extremely discouraging” and “unbelievably sexist.”

Conservatism Can't Survive Donald Trump Intact  —  On Monday morning the conservative-media world woke up to a savagely personal attack in National Review on the Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin.  The outburst might seem a textbook case of the narcissism of petty differences within the conservative world.

‘Silicon Valley’ Star T.J. Miller Accused of Sexually Assaulting and Punching a Woman … Warning: This story includes graphic content.  —  An alleged victim of former Silicon Valley star T.J. Miller is coming forward with accusations that Miller hit and sexually assaulted her while in college.

The FBI Routinely Abuses Its Powers but the Trump Investigation Has Been By the Book  —  “The FBI has become America's secret police.”  —  Gregg Jarrett was just getting started.  It was December 6, and the Fox News legal analyst was a guest on Sean Hannity's show.

EPA chief sweeps office for bugs, installs high-tech locks  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the Environmental Protection Agency used public money to have his office swept for hidden listening devices and bought sophisticated biometric locks for additional security.

Jim Clapper Just Nuked the Trump Presidency  —  Spy bosses are by nature the most tight-lipped of people.  Those who head our intelligence agencies got there in no small part by knowing precisely what to say to whom, when.  In recent decades, as the heads of Western intelligence have emerged …

Who are we as a country?  Time to decide: Sally Yates  —  Stand up and speak out on America's core founding values.  We are not living in ordinary times, and it's not enough to admire them from afar.  —  Over the course of our nation's history, we have faced inflection points …

Hillary Clinton Favorable Rating at New Low  —  WASHINGTON, D.C. — Hillary Clinton's image has declined since June and is now the worst Gallup has measured for her to date.  Her favorable rating has fallen five percentage points since June to a new low of 36%, while her unfavorable rating has hit a new high of 61%.

Leahy regrets calling for Franken to resign  —  Minnesota Gov. Dayton names Lt. Gov. Tina Smith to fill Franken seat until November election.  Smith will run in that election to complete Franken's term through 2020.  (Dec. 13) AP  —  CONNECT  —  Sen. Patrick Leahy now says he was too hasty …

Amtrak train was speeding significantly before crash  —  Amtrak train derails, dangles onto highway  —  DuPont, Washington (CNN)Careening around a curve at almost three times the speed limit, an Amtrak train derailed and hurled passenger cars off an overpass — and onto rush hour traffic below.

Republicans fight Democrats — and themselves — as shutdown looms  —  Even as Republicans are poised to pass a $1.5 trillion tax-cut bill, a brewing fight over federal funding may lead to a government shutdown at week's end.  —  Speaker Paul Ryan plans to pass a continuing resolution later …

Fox contributor floats conspiracy theory that the FBI might have planned to assassinate Donald Trump  —  HARRIS FAULKNER (CO-HOST): Senate Judiciary Committee chair [Sen.] Chuck Grassley [(R-IA)] reportedly says he wants the FBI to replace Andrew McCabe.  All right, so we got to get to the bottom …

Mueller's little surprise (4)  —  Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Chairman Ron Johnson has now responded to Presidential Transition Team (or Trump for America) attorney Kory Langhofer's December 16 letter to him by letter to the Administrator of the General Services Administration.

Trump administration asks Supreme Court to prevent detainee from having abortion  —  The Trump administration has asked the Supreme Court to intervene and stop one of two undocumented immigrants in federal custody from having an abortion.  —  A federal district court judge issued …

House IT Aides Ran Car Dealership With Markings Of A Nefarious Money Laundering Operation  —  The used car dealership known as CIA never seemed like an ordinary car dealership, with inventory, staff and expenses.  —  On its Facebook page, CIA's “staff” were fake personalities such as …