Team Trump Gleeful That Shutdown Will Hijack Pelosi's Big Moment  —  The president's aides see a debate being waged on his issues, not hers, and they couldn't be happier.  —  Days into a partial government shutdown that has left tens of thousands of federal workers furloughed …

Trump used her slain daughter to rail against illegal immigration.  She chose a different path.  —  BROOKLYN, Iowa — The letters began immediately.  Dozens at first, then hundreds, each day bringing more: from a Texas man telling her this was why we needed to build the wall.

The Latest: White House and Dems are “far apart” on shutdown  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the partial government shutdown (all times local):  —  The White House says President Donald Trump and Democrats are “far apart” on reaching an agreement on ending a partial government shutdown, indicating it could continue for some time.

Former McKinsey Executive Imprisoned by Saudis  —  Saudi citizen arrested in last year's sweep has been beaten, people familiar with the matter say  —  Saudi Arabian officials arrested a partner at consulting giant McKinsey & Co. in the fall of 2017 and have been holding him in detention since then …

Special Counsel Robert Mueller Seized Russian Trolls' ‘Nude Selfies’  —  The special counsel turned over reams of material from the email and social media accounts of accused Russian trolls.  —  Special Counsel Robert Mueller has collected at least three million pages of material from the email …

Nation's oldest living veteran Richard Overton dies in Austin at age 112  —  AUSTIN, Texas (FOX 7 Austin) - The nation's oldest living veteran, Richard Overton, has died in a rehab facility in Austin, Texas.  —  He was 112 years old.  —  Family says Overton was admitted to the hospital last week with pneumonia.

As 2018 draws to a close, I'm continuing a favorite tradition of mine and sharing my year-end lists.  It gives me a moment to pause and reflect on the year through the books, movies, and music that I found most thought-provoking, inspiring, or just plain loved.

Blue Light Floods NYC Sky as Transformer Explodes in Queens  —  A transformer explosion in Queens sent an eerie blue light flooding into the nighttime sky over New York City Thursday night, startling residents.  —  Con Edison says a couple of transformers tripped offline at the substation …

Welcome to the world of President Rand Paul  —  President's Trump's foreign policy follows no firm ideology but is often a combination of his long-held personal views and the influence of whoever currently has his ear.  These days, Trump is listening more than ever to Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) …

Agency: Government workers could do painting or carpentry work to help pay rent during shutdown  —  The U.S. Office of Personnel Management has offered federal workers affected by the partial government shutdown a guide for negotiating with creditors, landlords and mortgage companies while their income is cut off.

Bre's Story  —  Around 8:30 this morning, December 27th, Bre's friend went into her room and found her unresponsive and barely breathing.  She immediately called 911 and Bre was taken to the hospital where she was admitted to the ICU, sedated & intubated, and doctors began working up a diagnosis.

House Democrats scooping up staff, lawyers to power Trump investigations  —  Trump Organization braces for investigations  —  (CNN)The House Judiciary Committee is looking for a few good lawyers.  —  A recent committee job posting reviewed by CNN asked for legislative counsels with a variety of expertise …

Amos Oz, Israeli Literary Giant, Dies at 79  —  Israel Prize laureate was one of the most esteemed and widely-translated Israeli authors  —  Israeli writer Amos Oz, Israel Prize laureate, died on Friday at 79 from cancer.  —  Oz was the author of dozens of Hebrew-language books …

With identical tweets, Schumer and Pelosi reveal themselves as mouthpieces for the same propaganda puppet master  —  I have long wondered about who writes the talking points that keep Democrats reading from the same script.  That person - or more likely, persons - evidently issues instructions …

“Trump Got Lucky”: Why G.O.P. Insiders Fear Beto and Biden Over Warren and Sanders  —  Republicans are happy to run against any progressive who tries to compete with Trump at the game he perfected.  But they desperately fear another Barack Obama.  —  Don't kid yourself: President Donald Trump could absolutely win re-election.

The Inevitability of Impeachment  —  Even Republicans may be deciding that the president has become too great a burden to their party or too great a danger to the country.  —  Ms. Drew is a journalist based in Washington who covered Watergate.  —  An impeachment process against President Trump now seems inescapable.

Mizzou Official Claims Tall Men Asking Out Short Women Could Constitute Sexual Misconduct  —  Getting up the courage to ask someone out on a date can already be nerve-racking, but now that college campuses have completely gone off the deep end, that fear will be intensified.

Trump's New Judges Are Everything Conservatives Hoped For And Liberals Feared  —  WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has gotten more judges confirmed to federal appeals courts in his first two years in office than any president in modern history.  With 30 new circuit judges on the bench …

White Referee Fired After Forcing Black Wrestler to Cut Dreadlocks  —  Alan Maloney, the White referee who made a Black high school wrestler cut his dreadlocks to compete, has been let go by the school district.  —  Alan Maloney, the White referee who forced, Andrew Johnson …

The horror!  U.S. troops want America to be great  —  Until two days ago, President Trump was under attack for not visiting U.S. troops overseas during Christmastime.  For example, NBC News declared Trump the “first president since 2002” not to do so.  —  This turned out to be fake news.