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 lashed out at Whitaker after explosive Cohen revelations  —  Cohen says he lied about project in Moscow  —  Washington (CNN)President Donald Trump has at least twice in the past few weeks vented to his acting attorney general, angered by federal prosecutors who referenced …

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 …

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 …

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.

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 …

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 Is Building a Team of Lackeys to Go to War With Mueller  —  One of the myths about President Trump is that he is attracted to anybody who praises him (and repelled from anybody who criticizes him) in an automatic and unthinking fashion, like an amoeba moving toward the light.

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 …

Retreating ISIS army smuggled a fortune in cash and gold out of Iraq and Syria  —  IRBIL, Iraq — More than a year after the collapse of its self-declared caliphate, the Islamic State is sitting on a mountain of stolen cash and gold that its leaders stashed away to finance terrorist operations …

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.

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 …

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 …

Deported Mexicans reported being refused medical care while in US custody  —  “A man was deported with a broken collarbone protruding from his skin,” researchers who surveyed deported Mexicans stated  —  AUSTIN, Texas — Researchers who surveyed 1,109 Mexicans deported from the United States …

Jamal Khashoggi's final months as an exile in the long shadow of Saudi Arabia  —  Jamal Khashoggi had been in the United States for only a few months when the forces he had fled in Saudi Arabia made clear that he would never fully escape.  —  He was at a friend's home in suburban Virginia …

Life After Horrific Death for the Journalist James Foley  —  On a cool October evening, in a Brooklyn studio crowded with canvases, some still wet, Diane Foley stood before an oil painting of two solemn grade-school boys in the Libyan civil war.  One of the boys held aloft a photo of a middle-aged man, a relative, who was missing.

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 …

After More Than Two Decades of Work, a New Hebrew Bible to Rival the King James  —  The pre-eminent scholar Robert Alter has finally finished his own translation.  —  One morning this fall, at his home high in the Berkeley hills, the literary critic and translator Robert Alter chatted …