‘I am all alone’: An isolated Trump unleashes a storm of Yuletide gloom  —  The Debrief: An occasional series offering a reporter's insights  —  The Christmas Eve grievances billowing from the White House on Monday formed a heavy cloud of Yuletide gloom.

Time for G.O.P. to Threaten to Fire Trump  —  Republican leaders need to mount an intervention.  —  Up to now I have not favored removing President Trump from office.  I felt strongly that it would be best for the country that he leave the way he came in, through the ballot box.

Kevin Spacey Charged With Felony Sexual Assault  —  The actor — who posted a bizarre 'House of Cards'-style video address on Monday — will be arraigned in Massachusetts on Jan. 7.  —  The Cape and Islands, Massachusetts, district attorney announced Monday that Kevin Spacey will face …

Trump tells boy that believing in Santa at 7 is ‘marginal’  —  President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump took calls from children anxious to find out where Santa is on his gift-giving journey.  —  In one conversation, Trump asked a 7-year-old named Coleman, “Are you still a believer in Santa?”

McCaskill warns Dems about ‘cheap’ rhetoric; says GOP senators privately believe Trump is ‘nuts’  —  (CNN)Sen. Claire McCaskill has some advice for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the incoming freshman who has rapidly risen from obscurity to one of the most well-known figures in the Democratic Party: Talk is cheap.

What Was Steve Mnuchin Thinking?  Three Possibilities  —  Imagine having a runny nose, itchy eyes, congestion, and a sore throat, and your doctor telling you that you shouldn't worry about cancer—she consulted her colleagues and they're certain it is not cancer, and if it were, they could fight it.

Dutch church clocks up 1,400 hours to prevent family being deported  —  Non-stop service held to prevent deportation  —  (CNN)A non-stop church service in the Netherlands — aimed at stopping an Armenian family from being deported — has become so popular it has issued tickets for the Christmas period to control numbers.

Scarborough: ‘Terminal’ Trump Presidency Threatens a Global ‘Pandemic’  —  The End is Nigh, take umpteen. . .  As we've noted before, the challenge for Morning Joe is to outdo itself in doom-laden declarations about President Trump.  By that standard, the show did well this morning.

TSA moving toward floppy-ear airport dog force because pointy-ear dogs ‘scare children’  —  The Transportation Security Administration is in the process of swapping out pointy-ear dogs for floppy-ear ones in an effort to put more of the public at ease when interacting with its canines.

The vice president should be preparing for the worst  —  One good thing about holding a senior position in government is you get a lot of free advice — which brings me to the choice Vice President Mike Pence is about to make when he chooses a new chief of staff.

WaPo: Which Race Boxes to Check on Your College Application  —  From the Washington Post:  —  Which boxes to check?  College hopefuls weigh race, identity and affirmative action.  —  Sabria Kazmi's background defies easy classification.  She has grandparents from Tennessee, Iraq and two countries in South Asia.