Trump Says Russia Inquiry Makes U.S. ‘Look Very Bad’  —  WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — President Trump said Thursday that he believes Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel in the Russia investigation, will treat him fairly, contradicting some members of his party who have waged a weekslong campaign …

The Most Expensive Mile of Subway Track on Earth … An accountant discovered the discrepancy while reviewing the budget for new train platforms under Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan.  —  The budget showed that 900 workers were being paid to dig caverns for the platforms as part …

EXCLUSIVE: White power at the White House - Trump intern flashes ‘alt-right’ symbol used by notorious extremists during group photo with the president  — Former White House intern Jack Breuer held up a ‘white power’ sign during a photo-op with President Trump and fellow interns in the East Room in November

Drexel professor resigns amid threats over controversial tweets  —  (CNN)A Drexel University professor who received death threats after posting several controversial tweets said Thursday he is resigning because the year-long harassment has made his situation “unsustainable.”

Even Sharks Are Freezing to Death: Winter Rages and the Nation Reels  —  ERIE, Pa. — Shivering, snowbound cities are scrapping their outdoor New Year's Eve countdowns.  Polar-bear plunges are being canceled because of fears of frostbite and hypothermia.  Winter-hardened towns are gaping …

A Message to Our Customers about iPhone Batteries and Performance  —  We've been hearing feedback from our customers about the way we handle performance for iPhones with older batteries and how we have communicated that process.  We know that some of you feel Apple has let you down.  We apologize.

Bronx Fire, City's Deadliest in Decades, Kills at Least 12 and Injures More  —  At least 12 people were killed when a fire tore through a century-old apartment building in the Bronx on a frigid Thursday night, Mayor Bill de Blasio said.  It was the deadliest fire in New York City in more than a quarter-century.

Trump Reportedly Fires HIV/AIDS Panel Without Explanation  —  The remaining 16 members of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS were told they were being fired Wednesday, via a FedExed letter from the White House.  Six members resigned in June in protest of what they called the Trump administration's inaction on the issue.

Don't Take the Wrong Lessons from NYC's Murder Drop  —  Proactive policing still matters.  —  Cop critics who assiduously ignored the 20 percent increase in the national homicide rate over the previous two years have suddenly become enthusiastic purveyors of crime statistics.

A rising White House power: true-believer Stephen Miller  —  Guess who's likely to stick around for all four or eight years, and will be empowered in 2018?  Stephen Miller, the true-believer senior policy adviser, who trumps Trump on hardline immigration views — and may outlast almost everyone.

Billionaire kingmakers swarm Florida governor's race after Trump endorsement  —  After Donald Trump appeared to endorse Ron DeSantis' campaign for Florida governor last week, a handful of the biggest and most influential billionaires in Republican politics threw their support behind …

‘Star Wars’ Franchise Crosses $4 Billion, Eclipsing Disney's Lucasfilm Price  —  The feat comes as ‘The Last Jedi’ nears $940 million at the worldwide box office.  —  From the get-go, Wall Street analysts lauded The Walt Disney Co.'s decision in 2012 to buy Lucasfilm …

Was 2017 the Craziest Year in U.S. Political History?  —  Imagine how future historians might try to summarize 2017: A U.S. president, his family and his political aides came under investigation by a special counsel for possibly helping a foreign government meddle in the election.

In 2017, the media flunked the Trump challenge  —  President Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration was notable for more than just its small crowd sizes.  It was notable because it marked the beginning of the worst year of political journalism in modern history.  —  On the same day that Trump was sworn …

Why I Left Iran to Play Chess in America  —  Right now in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the World Chess Championships are underway.  But some world champions are noticeably absent: The Israeli players were blocked from participating when Saudi Arabia denied them visas.

Where's the California love?  Trump is first president in decades to skip a visit in initial year  —  President Trump visits Mississippi this month.  —  President Trump's love for all things gold apparently doesn't extend to the Golden State.  —  Trump is about to become …

Trump, the Insurgent, Breaks With 70 Years of American Foreign Policy  —  President Trump has transformed the world's view of the United States from an anchor of the international order into something more inward-looking and unpredictable.  —  WASHINGTON — President Trump was already revved …

Rooftop Snipers.  Helicopters.  A Hostage Team.  Las Vegas Gears Up for New Year's Eve.  —  LAS VEGAS — With their rifles at the ready for an active shooter, Sgt. Charles Jivapong and half a dozen other police officers moved quickly through an industrial building not far from the airport here …

138 things Trump did this year while you weren't looking  —  In Donald Trump's first act as president, he signed a high-profile executive order intended to dismantle Obamacare, instructing federal agencies to take any measures they could to roll back the Affordable Care Act.

The Year the News Accelerated to Trump Speed  —  WASHINGTON — Barack Obama was president earlier this year.  —  Really, eyewitness accounts from the period confirm this.  It lasted nearly three weeks, it seems, or roughly the time elapsed since a Democrat won a Senate seat in Alabama …

The five big questions for year two of the Trump presidency  —  Julian Zelizer is a history and public affairs professor at Princeton University and the author of “The Fierce Urgency of Now: Lyndon Johnson, Congress, and the Battle for the Great Society.”  He's also the co-host of the “Politics & Polls” podcast.

No, the Vanity Fair staffers behind the Clinton video shouldn't be fired  —  On the Internet, the logic of road rage reigns supreme: Alone before your screen, without trusted friends and other social mediators to provide context or perspective, and with no relationship between yourself and the offender …