Mick Mulvaney in 2015: Trump's views on border wall ‘simplistic,’ ‘absurd and almost childish’  —  (CNN)Incoming White House acting-chief of staff Mick Mulvaney once called President Donald Trump's views on a border wall and immigration “simplistic” and “absurd and almost childish.”

Trump call with Turkish leader led to US pullout from Syria  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw American troops from Syria was made hastily, without consulting his national security team or allies, and over strong objections from virtually everyone involved …

Supreme Court denies Trump administration request to immediately enforce new asylum rules  —  The Supreme Court on Friday denied the Trump administration's request that it be allowed to immediately enforce a new policy of denying asylum to those who illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico border …

The budget breakdown of a 25-year-old who makes $100,000 a year and is excellent with money  —  Trevor Klee, he admits, is a “terrible employee.”  But he's great at working for himself — and at taking tests.  —  So the 25-year-old entrepreneur started a thriving business of his own.

As Markets Tumble, Tech Stocks Hit a Rare and Ominous Milestone  —  When it comes to the stock market, America's technology giants have become a harbinger of more pain to come.  —  If Facebook, Apple or Google looked shaky this year — as investors worried about growth, regulation or mismanagement — the rest of the market felt it.

Trump warns shutdown could last ‘very long time,’ urges McConnell to go ‘nuclear’ and end filibuster  —  “Mitch, use the Nuclear Option and get it done!  Our Country is counting on you!”  Trump tweeted.  —  President Donald Trump on Friday said the chances of a partial government shutdown were …

Billionaire megadonor Robert Mercer cuts back on support for GOP after being scrutinized for backing Trump  — Yet people close to Mercer say he's “disappeared” and he's no longer playing as big a role in supporting the Republican Party as he used to.  — “He's out,” said a former associate of Mercer.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg undergoes surgery  —  Washington (CNN)Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg had two malignant nodules removed from her left lung Friday at a New York hospital, the Supreme Court announced.  —  There is no evidence of any remaining disease, says a court spokesperson …

Please don't wish me ‘Merry Christmas’  —  It's impolite and alienating to assume I follow your religion.  —  'Twas five nights before Christmas, and my Lyft driver was the umpteenth person to wish me a “Merry Christmas” that day.  He probably just meant it the way most people do …

Michael Cohen discussed mysterious $1.8 million loan to pool boy that Jerry Falwell Jr and his wife befriended: report  —  Jerry Falwell Jr. confirmed that he loaned $1.8 million to a young pool attendant he and his wife had befriended while staying six years ago at a luxury hotel.

Amy McGrath says she won't run for governor of Kentucky  —  Democrat Amy McGrath, who ran a nationally watched campaign for Congress, said Friday she will not seek her party's nomination for Kentucky governor in 2019.  —  “I am humbled by the encouragement to throw my hat back in the ring right away …

Build a Giant Escalator Over the Wall  —  $1,658 of $200.0M goal Raised by 105 people in 21 hours  —  The wall is never going to be built but just in case it is we will build a series of giant escalators that are spaced out a half mile along the wall on either side and if that doesn't happen we'll …

Why Are Hershey's Kisses Suddenly Missing Their Tips?  —  Bakers are perplexed as to why the iconic candy isn't up to snuff this holiday season.  —  Bad kisses sound like a problem you haven't dealt with since your teenage years, but they're a serious concern right now for bakers …

Mattis Always Understood Trump's Severe Defects  —  In the spring of 2016, not long after The Atlantic published an article I had written about President Barack Obama's foreign-policy record, I visited the Hoover Institution, a think tank on the campus of Stanford University …

ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS  —  “The night is far gone, the day is near.  Let us then lay aside the works of darkness and put on the armour of light” (Rom 13:12).  —  Dear brothers and sisters,  —  Filled with the joy and hope that radiate from the countenance of the Holy Child …

Newsonomics: 18 lessons for the news business from 2018  —  We live in transgressive, new-Orwellian times.  Fact has been subverted by forces beyond our imagination, both newly minted and old school.  Truth, elusive truth, is now in the mind of the subscriber.

What Is Glitter?  —  A strange journey to the glitter factory.  —  Each December, surrounded by wonderlands of white paper snowflakes, bright red winterberries, and forests of green conifers reclaiming their ancestral territory from inside the nation's living rooms and hotel lobbies …

Why Kirstjen Nielsen Sounds Like the Hulk  —  On a worrisome day in Washington—with a government shutdown looming and the defense secretary resigning—a clip of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen served as unexpected comic relief.  Nielsen, speaking before the House Judiciary Committee …

Republicans are responsible for the Trump fiasco  —  Let's put aside for the moment the question of whether President Trump committed crimes in obtaining the presidency (conspiracy to violate campaign finance laws by hush-money payments or receipt of assistance from a foreign power) …

The death of our Siemens factory is the result of another Trump lie  —  Trump has the power to tell companies such as Siemens to keep plants open.  All he would have to do is sign an executive order  —  This week, days before Christmas, I will clock into my good, union job one last time.

The Establishment Will Never Say No to a War  —  The question before us is a relatively simple one: What would be the criteria for removing our remaining troops from the Iraqi, Syrian, and more general Middle Eastern conflicts?  Or, for that matter, from Afghanistan, where we have been trapped …