White House weighs booting Erdogan foe from U.S. to appease Turkey  —  “Once they realized it was a serious request, the career guys were furious,” a U.S. official said of request tied to Khashoggi killing.  —  WASHINGTON — The White House is looking for ways to remove an enemy …

Florida Dems planned to use altered forms to fix mail ballots across state after deadline  —  Senator Bill Nelson has called for a recount.  Do the vote margins in his race against Rick Scott call for one?  —  CONNECT  —  TALLAHASSEE — A day after Florida's election left top state races …

U.S. Is Optimistic It Will Prosecute Assange  —  Over the past year, U.S. prosecutors have discussed several types of charges they could potentially bring against the WikiLeaks founder  —  The Justice Department is preparing to prosecute WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and is increasingly optimistic …

Donald Trump Becomes Twitter Laughingstock Over ‘Envy Of The World’ Boast  —  “Take it from an outsider: we feel sorry for Americans.”  —  Donald Trump on Thursday sought to stifle media reports that his administration is engulfed “in chaos” and “in meltdown” by claiming that the U.S. under his presidency was “the envy of the world.”

Ocasio-Cortez gets in closed-door fight with veteran lawmaker over climate change  —  A fight broke out in a closed-door meeting of House Democrats over climate change as a powerful veteran lawmaker fought with freshman star Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other members-elect over the creation of a special panel for the issue.

Man shouts ‘Heil Hitler, Heil Trump’ during intermission of Baltimore performance of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’  —  The audience reacts after a man interrupts the “Fiddler on the Roof” performance at the Hippodrome Theatre.  (Video courtesy of Rich Scherr)  —  A man shouted a pro-Nazi …

These charts show how Democrats represent the growing modern economy - and how Republicans are left behind  —  Among other results, this year's midterm elections affirmed this much: in Washington, the two parties now speak for dramatically different segments of the American economy.

Even Trump Can't Stop Mocking Sean Hannity's ‘Dumb’ Softball Questions  —  Trump craves friction to set off sparks and drama.  Hannity's slobbering extinguishes them.  —  Donald Trump's close relationship—on air and off—with Sean Hannity hasn't stopped the president from mocking …

Golden wins Maine's 2nd District race following historic ranked-choice count  —  Democrat Jared Golden won 50.5 percent of the vote versus 49.5 for incumbent Republican Rep. Bruce Poliquin after the elections results were run through the ranked-choice tabulation software.

The NRA Has Killed Free Coffee for Employees  —  The National Rifle Association is doing away with free coffee and water coolers for employees at its Fairfax, Virginia, headquarters — a cost-cutting move that has NRA insiders “freaking out,” The Trace has learned.

U.S. judge refuses to toss out Mueller probe case against Russian firm owned by 'Putin's chef'  —  A federal judge refused Thursday to dismiss the indictment of a Russian firm accused by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III of funding part of a Russian effort to influence the 2016 U.S. election.

Scott Walker on election loss: 'In no way did I see it as a rejection;" may change 2020 presidential primary date  —  Gov. Scott Walker said Thursday he is considering legislative changes to Wisconsin's 2020 presidential primary date — a move that could help his conservative Supreme Court appointee, Daniel Kelly, win re-election.

Texas businessman challenges acting AG's legality  —  A Texas businessman facing a federal criminal case over distribution of substandard pet food ingredients is mounting a novel challenge to President Donald Trump's hotly debated appointment of Matthew Whitaker as acting attorney general.

Full Transcript Of Trump's Oval Office Interview With The Daily Caller  —  WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump sat for an exclusive Oval Office interview Wednesday with The Daily Caller's Saagar Enjeti and Benny Johnson for approximately 31 minutes.  —  The transcript is as follows:

Taxpayers' cost for Trump Jr.'s business trip to India nearly $100K, documents show  —  Donald Trump Jr.'s lavish trip to India to sell his family's luxury condominium projects cost U.S. taxpayers nearly $100,000, documents obtained by The Washington Post show.

Trump's 2016 Showing Was the Most Important Factor in 2018 House Races  —  Not long after the November 2017 elections, I had lunch with David Petts, a Democratic pollster and longtime veteran of congressional campaigns.  He remarked that the Republican gubernatorial candidates in Virginia …

Trump's Rages and the Case for Optimism  —  If Donald Trump were not so unbalanced, were he not exacting such immeasurable damage on the domestic welfare and the national security of the United States, you might find it in yourself to feel a tinge of sympathy for one so lost.

A Blueprint for Content Governance and Enforcement  —  My focus in 2018 has been addressing the most important issues facing Facebook.  As the year wraps up, I'm writing a series of notes about these challenges and the progress we've made.  The first note was about Preparing for Elections and this is the second in the series.