Trump praises ‘Fox & Friends’ for being named ‘most influential’ because he watches it  —  on Thursday praised “Fox & Friends” after a media website named it the “most influential” because he watches it.  —  “Was @foxandfriends just named the most influential show in news?”  Trump tweeted.

House Republicans quietly investigate perceived corruption at DOJ, FBI  —  A group of House Republicans has gathered secretly for weeks in the Capitol in an effort to build a case that senior leaders of the Justice Department and FBI improperly — and perhaps criminally …

Virginia officials will randomly pick winner of tied House of Delegates race on Dec. 27  —  Politicos, mark your calendars for Wednesday Dec. 27.  —  That's the day the Virginia Board of Elections will randomly pick the winner of the high stakes and tied 94th House District race.  —  The impact?

Nikki Haley Confronts the U.N.'s ‘Jackals’  —  The U.S. ambassador, like the president, knows that the organization is irrelevant without its richest member.  —  When U.N. member states vote Thursday on a resolution condemning America's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, Ambassador Nikki Haley will be watching.

Exclusive: US making plans for ‘bloody nose’ military attack on North Korea  —  America is drawing up plans for a “bloody nose” military attack on North Korea to stop its nuclear weapons programme, The Telegraph understands.  —  The White House has “dramatically” stepped up preparation …

Prosecutors ask FBI agents for info on Uranium One deal  —  On the orders of Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Justice Department prosecutors have begun asking FBI agents to explain the evidence they found in a now dormant criminal investigation into a controversial uranium deal that critics …

President Commutes Sentence of Iowa Meatpacking Executive  —  President Trump on Wednesday commuted the prison sentence of Sholom Rubashkin, whose Iowa meatpacking plant was the target of a huge immigration raid in 2008, and whose 27-year prison sentence angered many Orthodox Jews.

Facebook Job Ads Raise Concerns About Age Discrimination  —  This article was written through collaboration between The New York Times and ProPublica, the independent, nonprofit investigative journalism organization.  —  A few weeks ago, Verizon placed an ad on Facebook to recruit applicants …

Ivanka Trump: Corker had ‘real integrity’ during tax negotiations  —  , first daughter and senior adviser to President Trump  —  (R-Tenn.) for his work on the GOP tax bill, saying the Tennessee lawmaker “had real integrity.”  —  “I spent a lot of time with Senator Corker as well.

Mueller Is Looking Into a U.S. Foundation Backed by Russian Money  —  Foundation got $500,000 in undisclosed Russian donations  —  Representatives attended meeting with Trump campaign officials  —  Sara Peterson flew to Moscow in 2012 to take home two Russian orphans just as the Kremlin …

Forget what they say — House Democrats are readying for impeachment  —  To fill their top spot on the House Judiciary Committee, Democrats had a choice between experts in two critical policy arenas: a constitutional law ace with firsthand experience battling President Trump, and an architect of sweeping immigration legislation.

Wall Street Journal Killed Editorial on Trump's Mob Ties  —  In a short period of time, five staffers have departed The Wall Street Journal editorial page.  The general cause of their departures, willing and otherwise, is known: the Journal editorial line has increasingly conformed …

All 11 over-the-top speeches praising Donald Trump at Wednesday's tax celebration, ranked  —  (CNN)Congressional Republicans gathered at the White House Wednesday afternoon to celebrate the passage of a major tax cut bill with President Trump.  It was a love-fest.

Money Talks: Blackstone, Carlyle, KKR dial up donations to key GOP lawmakers as tax bill protects carried interest loophole  —  If you want to know how one of Wall Street's biggest players managed to keep a massive and controversial loophole in the GOP tax bill, just follow the money.

Good Riddance to the Blue State Model  —  A few years ago, Walter Russell Mead published an insightful article titled, “The Once and Future Liberalism” in which he described two models of governance in the American states.  First is the blue state model—found in states like New York …

You Cannot Be Too Cynical About the Republican Tax Bill  —  The rush to enact the tax bill was designed to mask — as a break for the middle class — what is in fact a $1.4 trillion package of benefits for key donors and lobbyists, the richest members of Congress, President Trump, his family and other families like his.

White House Counsel Knew in January Flynn Probably Violated the Law  —  Don McGahn was looking at whether the national security advisor violated federal laws just days after Trump moved into the White House.  —  The White House turned over records this fall to special counsel Robert Mueller revealing …

Fueled by drug crisis, U.S. life expectancy declines for a second straight year … American life expectancy at birth declined for the second consecutive year in 2016, fueled by a staggering 21 percent rise in the death rate from drug overdoses, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday.

Trump Plans Tax Signing on Jan. 3 Due to Technical Issue  —  President Donald Trump plans to sign the tax bill on Jan. 3 to ensure automatic spending cuts to Medicare and other programs don't take effect, according to a House Republican aide familiar with the plans.

Hell freezes over: Media start admitting that Trump's first year isn't a flop  —  I have sensed for weeks now that some in the media were on the verge of rolling out a contrary take on President Trump's first year in office.  —  And in the wake of yesterday's final passage of massive tax cuts, that moment has arrived.

Cochran's future in the Senate in doubt  —  Sen. Thad Cochran, chairman of the powerful Appropriations Committee, hasn't presided over a hearing since early September.  The Mississippi Republican has not given a speech on the Senate floor all year, and he's introduced only two bills during that time, both of them minor.

Ridiculous video emerges of wealthy Koch heir — and the internet is dying of laughter  —  The billionaire heir of conservative industrialist Bill Koch stands to benefit mightily from the newly passed Republican tax overhaul.  —  Wyatt Ingraham Koch is president and CEO of the Wyatt Ingraham clothing brand …

Chappelle to Trump voters in new special: 'You are poor.  He's fighting for me'  —  Dave Chappelle says he “feels sorry” for “poor whites” who voted for President Trump  —  in the 2016 election because the commander in chief doesn't have their best interests in mind.

Long Island Iced Tea Soars 500% After Changing Its Name to Long Blockchain  —  There's a new leader in the sweepstakes for the zaniest name change in the crypto craze.  —  Long Island Iced Tea Corp. shares rose 238 percent after the company rebranded itself Long Blockchain Corp. It's …

Apple addresses why people are saying their iPhones with older batteries are running ‘slower’  —  Because of a Reddit post and the loose interpretation of subsequent benchmark tests posted by Primate Labs' John Poole, the “Apple throttles old iPhones” meme has reared its ugly head again.

The Real Coup Plot Is Trump's  —  When Donald Trump's campaign was accused of spreading “fake news,” he quickly appropriated the term for himself.  The true purveyors of fake news, he claimed, were television networks like CNN and newspapers like this one.  —  Now, as Mr. Trump and his allies seem …

I spoke my mind on guns.  Then my Senate confirmation was put on hold.  —  Dean L. Winslow, a retired Air Force colonel and flight surgeon, is a professor of medicine at Stanford University.  —  Last week, I withdrew my name from consideration to be assistant secretary of defense for health affairs.

Trump will personally save up to $15m under tax bill, analysis finds  —  Jared Kushner will save up to $12m, while five other members of Trump's inner circle will also see benefits worth millions of dollars  — View an experimental story on this topic designed for mobile, and sign up for updates …

Dec. 21 will be the worst day of 2017, astrologers say … The winter solstice — also known as Yule, Midwinter, the Shortest Day of the Year and the Longest Night — occurs at 11:28 a.m. ET Thursday.  —  But this short, little day with the great many names also may be the worst day of the year, according to astrologers.