The Tax Bill Shows the G.O.P.'s Contempt for Democracy  —  The Republican Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is notably generous to corporations, high earners, inheritors of large estates and the owners of private jets.  Taken as a whole, the bill will add about $1.4 trillion to the deficit in the next decade …

Democrats' 2018 advantage expands  —  STORY HIGHLIGHTS  —  WASHINGTON (CNN)Democrats' already wide advantage over Republicans in a hypothetical Congressional matchup has grown, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS.  At the same time, enthusiasm about voting next year …

2 Women Who Settled With O'Reilly Over Sexual Harassment Sue for Defamation  —  Two women who reached sexual harassment settlements with Bill O'Reilly joined a defamation lawsuit against Mr. O'Reilly and Fox News on Wednesday, asserting that statements that he and the network made depicted them as liars …

Treasury Targets Individuals Involved in the Sergei Magnitsky Case and Other Gross Violations of Human Rights in Russia  —  A total of 49 individuals have been designated under the Magnitsky Act  —  WASHINGTON - The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) …

Meryl Streep #SheKnew posters pop up in Los Angeles amid backlash over Harvey Weinstein comments  —  A street artist is calling Meryl Streep on her bluff.  —  Posters showing the “The Post” actress standing with disgraced producer Harvey Weinstein have been popping up across Los Angeles, Twitter posts indicate.

Cornel West's attacks on Ta-Nehisi Coates, explained  —  Coates is the latest target in West's war against Obama.  —  A public feud between two of America's top black intellectuals has led one of them to abandon Twitter.  —  Cornel West, author of the well-known Race Matters …

Breitbart went all out for Roy Moore.  Now its top editor says he was a ‘weak candidate’  —  Breitbart Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow was in his home office last Tuesday night running the front page of the far-right website when he learned that Judge Roy Moore would not be elected as the next senator from Alabama.

The GOP's Tax Bill Kicks Puerto Rico When It's Down  —  The island is getting slapped with new taxes as it drowns in debt and tries to recover from a catastrophic hurricane.  —  WASHINGTON The hits just keep coming for Puerto Rico.  —  As the U.S. island struggles to climb …

Donald Trump's Holiday Gift to America: A Fundamental Crisis  —  In a commencement speech years ago, author David Foster Wallace told this story: Two young fish are swimming along, and they pass an older fish swimming the other way.  The older fish says, “Morning, boys, how's the water?”

Koch heir sues ex-fiancée to get giant ring back  —  Wyatt Koch — the son of billionaire Bill Koch — is suing his ex-fiancée to get back an 8.24-carat ring after she broke off their engagement, according to court documents.  Wyatt's lawyers claim that he purchased …

Hispanic Identity Fades Across Generations as Immigrant Connections Fall Away  —  11% of American adults with Hispanic ancestry do not identify as Hispanic  —  More than 18% of Americans identify as Hispanic or Latino, the nation's second largest racial or ethnic group.

Last uncounted ballots: Moore can't close 20,000-vote loss  —  MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Republican Roy Moore hasn't conceded his 20,000-vote loss to Democrat Doug Jones in Alabama's Senate race, and provisional ballots and military votes still being counted show Moore can't close the deficit.

Press watchdogs, female employees want answers about NBC News' sexual harassment issues  —  The influential Media Research Center, an independent press watchdog, is now calling on NBC News to hire an outside investigator to review its culture of sexual misconduct after NBC News Chairman Andy Lack …

Mar-a-Lago hikes New Year's Eve party ticket prices  —  Partying with President Donald Trump on New Year's Eve is getting more expensive.  —  Ticket prices for the annual Dec. 31 bash at Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in South Florida are going up to $600 for dues-paying members and $750 for their guests …

New York golfers avoiding Trump's course  —  The president opened a big, beautiful course in the Bronx two years ago that players are increasingly shunning  —  Donald Trump enjoys few things more than golf and has built some well-regarded courses.  Yet many New Yorkers clearly prefer …

Nikki Haley in Threatening Letter to UN Members: Trump ‘Will Be Watching’ Who Votes Against U.S. Recognition of Jerusalem  —  U.S. envoy's letter, obtained by Haaretz, sent one day before resolution rejecting U.S. move expected to pass by sweeping majority at the General Assembly

On the Front Lines of the GOP's Civil War  —  In 2016, a group of Republicans broke ranks with their party to try to stop Donald Trump from winning the presidency.  Now they're rallying once more to keep him from destroying the country.  Sam Tanenhaus reports on the Never Trumpers.

Confusion and chaos ahead as new tax rules take immediate effect  —  Accountants, IRS and taxpayers scramble to figure out how to comply.  —  The most sweeping tax code overhaul in a generation will soon head to President Donald Trump's desk — and Republicans are enjoying a victory dance.

The Mooch rips ‘loser’ Steve Bannon at Hanukkah party  —  Potty-mouthed flameout White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci spoke to NYC Jews about his inspiring pilgrimage to Israel — but still couldn't resist laying into his nemesis Steve Bannon as a “messianic loser.”

Trump boasts of individual mandate repeal in GOP tax bill  —  President Donald Trump on Wednesday praised a provision in the Republican tax bill that guts the requirement that all Americans have health insurance and said it “means Obamacare is being repealed,” though much of the 2010 health law remains in place.

Paul Ryan was asked if Trump's accusers are liars.  His response was abysmal.  —  During an interview with TODAY's Savannah Guthrie on Wednesday, House Speaker Paul Ryan punted when asked about the official White House stance on President Trump's sexual harassment accusers.

A Man Got Stranded On A Fountain After Taking A Ton Of Molly And Stealing A Swan Boat  —  The man told police he “wanted to go be with the swans because they don't judge him.”  —  A man had to be rescued early Friday morning in Orlando after taking “a large quantity of Molly,” stealing a swan boat …

Saudi Arabia to Freeze More Bank Accounts in Crackdown  —  Matthew Martin, Glen Carey and Archana Narayanan  —  More people said to be questioned, some detainees released  —  Kingdom could recover as much as $100 billion in purge  —  Saudi Arabia's crackdown on alleged corruption showed …

Parents pull kids from class as Ivanka Trump visits CT school  —  NORWALK -  —  First daughter Ivanka Trump made a surprise visit to the Norwalk Early College Academy Monday, prompting some parents who oppose the president's views to pull their kids out of school.

Here's the Pentagon's guidance for processing transgender recruits  —  The military has issued a seven-page document to its recruiting commands on how to process transgender recruits, laying out guidelines for medical exams, gender pronouns, underwear, pregnancy tests and other issues …

‘Racist’ trees separating a black neighborhood from a golf course will come down  —  PALM SPRINGS, Calif. — Palm Springs will remove a row of trees blocking a historically African-American neighborhood from a city-owned golf course.  —  At an informal meeting with neighborhood residents Sunday …