Michael Cohen Sentenced To 3 Years In Prison  —  U.S. Attorney's Office Also Announces Non-Prosecution Agreement with American Media, Inc., Related to Its Payment of $150,000 to a Woman to Influence 2016 Presidential Election  —  Robert Khuzami, Attorney for the United States, Acting Under Authority Conferred by 28 U.S.C.

Everybody's Wrong: Donald Trump Won the Chuck-n-Nancy Meeting, and Here's Why  —  All that in-front-of-the-cameras civility is fake anyway.  Trump dispensed with it.  It was refreshing, and his people will love it, shutdown or no shutdown.  —  Matt Lewis

Incoming New York attorney general plans wide-ranging investigations of Trump and family  —  Just-elected Letitia James, who takes office next month, tells NBC she will probe real estate deals, Trump Tower meeting, emoluments, Trump Foundation and more.  —  New York Attorney Gen.-elect Letitia James …

Giuliani's Work for Trump Is Slowing, so He's Courting Business Abroad  —  WASHINGTON — The special counsel's investigation was grinding relentlessly onward, with President Trump's former national security adviser pleading for leniency in his case and his former fixer about to be sentenced for his crimes.

Tennessee U.S. Rep.-elect Mark Green, a doctor, falsely claims vaccines cause autism, denies CDC evidence  —  A soon-to-be congressman from Tennessee told constituents Tuesday he believed vaccines may be causing autism, denying data from the Centers for Disease Control and other institutions disproving such a theory.

Photo shows Mark Harris and man at center of election fraud investigation together  —  CHARLOTTE, N.C. - A new photo obtained by Channel 9 is adding to the complex and ever-evolving story of the 9th Congressional District election fraud investigation.  —  The State Board of Elections …

Exclusive: Trump says standing by Saudi crown prince despite pleas from Senate  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he stood by Saudi Arabia's crown prince despite a CIA assessment that he ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and pleas …

Would Indicting Trump Be Constitutional?  —  Yes, it would be.  But that question is a distraction from the principal objective of the Russia investigation.  —  Mr. Lederman has twice served in the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel.  —  The government's recent sentencing …

APNewsBreak: Julian Castro moves toward 2020 White House run  —  SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Former Obama housing chief Julian Castro says he's taking a step toward a possible White House campaign in 2020 by forming a presidential exploratory committee.  The Texas Democrat tells The Associated Press that he will announce a decision Jan. 12.

It finally sinks in that some people aren't white … Is it really true that evangelical voters, or women voters, or rural voters or southern voters have a certain outlook?  Or would it be more accurate to say that the trends we're reporting in a political piece are true for white members of these groups?

It's ridiculous that it's unconstitutional for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to run for president  —  Immigrants, young people, and everyone else should be allowed to run.  —  Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the biggest star in the Democratic Party, and she has been ever since she unseated …

Washington must wake up to the abuse of software that kills  —  Dictators are using spyware to persecute dissidents and journalists at an alarming rate, while the foreign firms that sell these tools assure the public that everything is just fine.  It's time Washington policymakers …

Exclusive: Trump says he is looking at 10 or 12 candidates for chief of staff job  —  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he has 10 to 12 candidates he is considering for the post of new White House chief of staff and although he could move quickly to fill the job, he was in no particular rush.

Customs And Border Protection Paid A Firm $13.6 Million To Hire Recruits.  It Hired 2  —  A scathing report by the Office of the Inspector General revealed that a consulting company hired by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to fill thousands of new jobs to satisfy President Trump's mandate …

Sen. Barbara Bollier Changes Party Affiliation To Democrat, Says Republican Party ‘morally Not Going Where My Compass Resides’  —  Mission Hills Sen. Barbara Bollier This Morning Officially Changed Her Party Affiliation From Republican To Democrat.  —  Citing “Frustrations That Have Been Ongoing …

Macron Just Doesn't Get It  —  He and others on the left are being swept along by world-historical forces they do not fully understand.  —  The sorry truth is that both progressives and neoliberals still don't get it, and that seems true in France most of all.

Saudi Arabia Declares War on America's Muslim Congresswomen  —  Gulf Arab monarchies are using racism, bigotry, and fake news to denounce Washington's newest history-making politicians.  —  Ever since the midterm election, conservative media in the United States have targeted with special zeal Ilhan Omar …

Workers are ghosting their employers like bad dates  —  Silent exits are on the rise.  —  Economists report that workers are starting to act like millennials on Tinder: They're ditching jobs with nary a text.  —  “A number of contacts said that they had been 'ghosted …

Tom Steyer Is Posting Job Listings On LinkedIn For A Potential 2020 Campaign  —  Tom Steyer posted a job listing on LinkedIn last week for several high-ranking positions on his potential 2020 presidential campaign, a spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday afternoon.

The Tyranny of the Elf on the Shelf: Where to Put Him Tonight?  —  A beloved Christmas tradition puts pressure on parents to keep coming up with creative scenarios; some adults wish he'd go back to Santa for good.  ‘This thing has snowballed.’

Trump Moves to Deport Vietnam War Refugees  —  The White House again wants to deport certain groups of protected immigrants, a reversal after backing away from the policy months ago.  —  The Trump administration is resuming its efforts to deport certain protected Vietnamese immigrants …

Christine Blasey Ford Introduces Rachael Denhollander as SI's Inspiration of the Year  —  SI's Sportsperson of the Year award ceremony will be telecast on NBCSN on Dec. 13 at 9 p.m. ET.  —  Dr. Christine Blasey Ford appeared in a video statement at Sports Illustrated's Sportsperson …

Introducing The Cook Political Report's 2020 House Ratings  —  The 116th Congress hasn't even been sworn in yet, and there's still no resolution in sight to one North Carolina race tainted by election fraud.  But already, the 2020 battle for the House is shaping up to be highly competitive.

Trump owns shutdown  —  With help from Ted Hesson, Ian Kullgren and Timothy Noah  —  Editor's Note: This edition of Morning Shift is published weekdays at 10 a.m. POLITICO Pro Employment & Immigration subscribers hold exclusive early access to the newsletter each morning at 6 a.m. To learn …

‘Hi-tech robot’ at Russia forum turns out to be man in suit  —  State television praised the ‘modern’ tech despite photos revealing actor in costume  —  Play Video  —  A “hi-tech robot” shown on Russian state television has turned out to be a man in a suit.

Memo: FBI recommended Michael Flynn not have lawyer present during interview, did not warn of false statement consequences  —  Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, who arranged the bureau's interview with then-national security adviser Michael Flynn at the White House on Jan. 24, 2017 …

Tennessee governor considering clemency for sex trafficking victim Cyntoia Brown  —  Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam (R) said that he is considering the clemency request for Cyntoia Brown, a sex trafficking victim who was sentenced to life in prison for killing a 43-year-old man who solicited her for sex when she was 16 years old.