For Trump, Cohen Plea Deal's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Exoneration  —  Contrary to media speculation that Robert Mueller is closing in on President Trump, the special prosecutor's plea deal with Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen offers further evidence that the Trump campaign did not collude …

Ex-Marine admits he lured Seth Rich conspiracy theorist Jack Burkman to a hotel parking garage, then shot him  —  A man who worked as an investigator for conspiracy theorist Jack Burkman will serve nine years in prison for shooting and wounding his ex-boss in a complicated plot involving a fake FBI exposé.

Sanders eyes ‘bigger’ 2020 bid despite some warning signs  —  BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) — An insurgent underdog no more, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is laying the groundwork to launch a bigger presidential campaign than his first, as advisers predict he would open the 2020 Democratic presidential primary season as a political powerhouse.

Trump to Attend Bush Funeral, but Won't Deliver Eulogy  —  President Trump will attend but not speak at this week's funeral service for former President George Bush, seemingly a compromise intended to respect tradition while avoiding an awkward moment given the animosity between the current president and the Bush family.

EXCLUSIVE: Absentee ballot envelopes in North Carolina fit into “a pattern of fraud”  —  The Congressional race in North Carolina's 9th district, where Republican Mark Harris is leading Democrat Dan McCready by just 905 votes, has drawn national attention because of highly unusual patterns in mail-in absentee ballots.

Why I'm coming to Iowa  —  Bloomberg: Trump will be ‘great’ if he accepts climate deal  —  Tuesday evening I will join local business and community leaders in Des Moines for a screening of a new documentary film called “Paris to Pittsburgh.”  It tells the stories of everyday Americans …

Can You Like the Person You Love to Hate?  —  Bari Weiss and Eve Peyser were Twitter enemies.  Then they met.  —  Ms. Weiss is a writer and editor for the Opinion section.  Ms. Peyser writes about politics and culture for Vice.  —  BARI WEISS: Everything sucks.

GOP Senate leader Scott Fitzgerald: 'We don't trust Tony Evers right now'  —  MADISON - One of the Legislature's top Republicans said he helped write a sweeping plan that weakens the incoming Democratic governor because Republicans “don't trust Tony Evers right now.”

CIA Director Gina Haspel to Brief Lawmakers Tuesday on Saudi Journalist's Death  —  CIA Director Gina Haspel will brief lawmakers on Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi's death on Tuesday.  Several on Capitol Hill had criticized the Trump administration after she was absent from a briefing on the killing last week.

Milo Yiannopoulos ‘more than $2m in debt’, Australian promoters' documents show  —  Cache details deterioration in relationship between far right activist and his former Gold Coast-based promoters  —  The far right activist Milo Yiannopoulos was more than $2m in debt during 2018 …

How No Labels Went From Preaching Unity to Practicing the Dark Arts  —  Internal documents show a group funded by the biggest names in finance.  But also beset by dysfunction and division.  —  As House Republicans were crafting their Obamacare repeal bill in the spring of 2017, Nancy Jacobson …

Home invasion  —  In case you hadn't noticed, @terryteachout, my Twitter account, was hacked on Sunday morning as part of a cross-platform attack on my social-media presence.  The objective, it seems, was ransom: I actually received a series of telephone calls from the culprits, who appear to reside in England.

Perjury Chart: Trump Associates' Lies, False, or Misleading Statements on Russia to Federal Authorities  —  It is a federal offense to intentionally make false statements to Congress, the FBI, and other federal authorities.  It is also a crime to encourage others to do so (that is, in technical terms, to “suborn perjury").

Trump lays off McConnell as criminal justice reform stalls  —  The last time Donald Trump thought Mitch McConnell was stalling one of his priorities — on Obamacare repeal — the president publicly lashed out at the Senate majority leader, tweeting that he should “get back to work.”

#291: Jeff Zucker  —  Jeff Zucker, president of CNN, sits down with David to talk about how a rejection from Harvard Law School paved the way for his meteoric rise as a media executive; his break up with NBC; the health scares that nearly claimed his life; and his unique perspective …

The Trouble With Tuna: 'A Lot of Millennials Don't Even Own Can Openers'  —  StarKist, Bumble Bee and Chicken of the Sea deal with slumping market amid competition from fresher options  —  Canned tuna, a lunchbox staple from the 20th century, is fighting to keep its spot in American cupboards.

A Wall Street Rule for the #MeToo Era: Avoid Women at All Cost  — Controverisal strategies risk isolating women in finance  — An idea from one man in the business: Try not to be a jerk  —  No more dinners with female colleagues.  Don't sit next to them on flights.  Book hotel rooms on different floors.

FBI raids home of Atlantic City mayor  —  Gallery: FBI agents raid the home of Atlantic City Mayor Frank Gilliam, Dec. 3, 2018  —  FBI agents raided the home of Atlantic City Mayor Frank Gilliam just before 8 a.m. Monday morning, the agency confirmed to NJ Advance Media.

Megadonor Sheldon Adelson wants GOP fundraising groups to shape up or risk losing support in 2020  — Sheldon Adelson, the biggest Republican donor, wants key GOP fundraising groups to shape up after this year's midterm wipeout in the House or risk losing his support for the 2020 election cycle, CNBC has learned.

The digital-media bubble is bursting.  That's hurting a generation of promising young journalists.  —  About five years ago, I was asked to visit the newsroom at Mic, a digital-media start-up backed by venture capital and focused on news for the millennial audience.

YAF Wins Landmark Free Speech Lawsuit, UC Berkeley To Pay $70,000 And Rescind Unconstitutional Policies  —  Following more than a year of hard-fought litigation in the hostile Ninth Circuit, Young America's Foundation secured victory for free speech against the University of California, Berkeley.

Soros-founded university says it has been kicked out of Hungary as an autocrat tightens his grip  —  BERLIN — An American university established a quarter-century ago to educate a new generation of leaders and scholars after communism's collapse in Central and Eastern Europe said Monday it has been kicked out of its home in Hungary.