Trump cancels White House Christmas party for the press  —  EXCLUSIVE - President Trump has canceled the White House holiday party for the media, making the decades-old tradition a victim of his increasingly contentious relationship with major news organizations.

Get Ready for Mueller's Phase Two: The Middle East Connection  —  The ‘Russia investigation’ is set to go global.  In court filings due to drop in 2019, prosecutors will unveil Middle Eastern countries' attempts to influence U.S. politics.  —  Over the past year, the indictments, convictions …

Evaluating Trump's latest legal defense on the 2016 hush-money payments  —  Let us dispatch quickly with a lot of truly remarkable context for President Trump's Thursday morning tweets denying culpability for alleged campaign-finance law violations.  So we'll note only hastily how noteworthy …

Chris Hayes's Work Diary: ‘My Life Is an Unceasing Festival of Impatience’  —  The journalist and MSNBC host wakes up to Twitter and ends the day “basically a brain-dead mess.”  —  As told to J. K. Trotter  —  Before he began hosting “All In,” which airs weeknights on MSNBC …

'They don't care': Facebook fact-checking in disarray as journalists push to cut ties  —  Journalists paid to help fix Facebook's fake news problem say they have lost trust in the platform  —  Journalists working as fact-checkers for Facebook have pushed to end a controversial media partnership …

Apple Plans Billion-Dollar Austin Campus in Wave of New Sites  —  iPhone maker says its planned Austin facility could create 15,000 jobs, would come alongside new offices in Seattle, San Diego and Culver City  —  Apple Inc. AAPL 0.28% plans to invest $1 billion building a new corporate campus in Austin …

Key lawmakers seek to haul in Trump associates working with Mueller  —  (CNN)Now that President Donald Trump's former “fixer,” Michael Cohen, has been sentenced to prison, leaders of the House and Senate Intelligence committees are preparing to haul him back before Congress before he begins serving time.

A law firm in the trenches against media unions  —  In May, the law firm Jones Day hosted a conference in its Manhattan office focused on labor and employment law in the news media industry.  It was an invitation-only affair, bringing together Jones Day attorneys and media executives …

Walls Work  —  WE ARE BUILDING THE FIRST NEW BORDER WALL IN A DECADE.  —  DHS is committed to building wall and building wall quickly.  We are not replacing short, outdated and ineffective wall with similar wall.  Instead, under this President we are building a wall that is 30-feet high.

Does This Look Right to You?  HOLLAD TONNEL  —  They decked the Holland with boughs of holly Then people called their décor folly.  —  Hundreds signed a web petition Now they'll vote on their position.  —  As it has in so many Decembers past, the Port Authority of New York …

Trump got Mexico to pay for the wall by simply changing the meaning of ‘pay’ and ‘Mexico’  —  When you were in fourth grade, someone probably blew your mind by telling you not to think of an elephant.  It's a fun little trick, that I will now deploy with a slight variant.

The Rise of Right-Wing Extremism, and How We Missed It … Listen and subscribe to our podcast from your mobile device:  —  Despite repeated warnings over the past two decades, federal law enforcement officials in the United States have ignored the threat of violence from far-right extremists.

Alleged Russian spy Maria Butina admits to engaging in conspiracy against US  —  Washington (CNN)Alleged Russian spy Maria Butina admitted in federal court Thursday morning to engaging in a conspiracy against the United States.  —  Butina, 30, was accused of working to infiltrate Republican …

Mueller should try to indict Trump.  It would guarantee his report goes public.  —  The attorney general would have to tell Congress about denying a request to prosecute the president.  —  Now that Michael Cohen has placed President Trump squarely in criminal crosshairs …

The Flynn Entrapment  —  A court filing shows the ugly tactics employed by James Comey's FBI.

Foul-mouthed Santa horrifies parents  —  (CNN)Organizers of a Christmas event have apologized to outraged parents after a fire alarm reportedly prompted Santa Claus to burst out of his grotto, rip off his beard and scream at children to “get the f**k out.”  —  The incident occurred at an event …

Sen. James Inhofe Bought Defense Stock Days After Pushing for Record Pentagon Spending—Then Dumped It When Asked About It  —  Ethics experts say the purchase underscores the moral hazard of lawmakers owning assets in areas of industry affected by legislation they are in positions to author.

OUTRAGEOUS.  —  ProPublica, a left-wing activist group funded by the likes of George Soros, is now funding . . . “investigative reporting” at the Courier Journal.  —  Is this the future of journalism?  Who is holding the Courier-Journal accountable?  —  Don't take my word for it!

Senate 2020: Republican exposure on paper, but not necessarily in practice  —  GOP defending a lot of turf, but much of it is dark red  —  KEY POINTS FROM THIS ARTICLE  — Of the 34 Senate races on the ballot in 2020, Republicans already control 22 of them while Democrats hold only 12.

When Anti-Zionism Tunnels Under Your House  —  For the people of northern Israel, anti-Zionism isn't some feckless sally in the world of ideas.  —  In 2002, Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary-general of Hezbollah, was said to have given a speech noting that the creation of the state of Israel …

Judge tosses suit by Maine GOP congressman who lost election  —  AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — A federal judge rejected a lawsuit Thursday by a Republican incumbent from Maine who lost the nation's first congressional election held under a candidate-ranking system.

‘He got screwed’: Gillum absent from indictment after DeSantis bashed him as corrupt  —  MIAMI — Federal authorities unveiled a 44-count, 66-page indictment Wednesday of a Tallahassee politician and a city official that involved six companies, five other players and a bank in a wide-ranging bribery …

Democrats in New Jersey Have a Firm Grip on Power.  They Want Even More.  —  TRENTON — [What you need to know to start the day: Get New York Today in your inbox.]  —  Legislative power brokers across the country have long designed district lines in back-room deals that entrenched their control for years, if not decades.