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.

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 …

Why the Bernie Movement Must Crush Beto O'Rourke  —  The first skirmish of the 2020 Democratic primary, a wave of attacks on Beto O'Rourke by supporters of Bernie Sanders, took almost everybody by surprise.  On the outside, it looks like one of those inscrutable, personality-driven online spats that characterize the Twitter era.

North Carolina Elections Board Dissolves, Adding New Chaos in House Race  —  The North Carolina state elections board dissolved on Friday under a court order, two weeks before its much-anticipated hearing to consider evidence of possible absentee ballot fraud in the disputed November election for the Ninth District's seat in Congress.

The Trump team just gave weird, insulting advice to furloughed federal workers who can't make rent  —  The Trump Administration just offered up bizarre and insulting advice for furloughed federal workers, proposing that they beg their landlords to exchange manual labor instead of rent …

Rep. Louie Gohmert: Let Shutdown Run ‘Until Hell Freezes Over’ If Wall Isn't Funded  —  The GOP congressman suggested to “Fox & Friends” that building a border wall would be an act of “compassion” toward Mexico.  —  Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) told “Fox & Friends” on Friday that he thinks …

Shutdown could block federal aid to farmers hit by trade war  —  WASHINGTON (AP) — The end of 2018 seemed to signal good things to come for America's farmers.  Fresh off the passage of the farm bill, which reauthorized agriculture, conservation and safety net programs …

House Republicans wrap their investigation into FBI's handling of Clinton and Russia probes  —  (CNN)The Republican leaders of two House committees say their investigation into the FBI's handling of Hillary Clinton's email server and its probe of alleged coordination between the Trump campaign …

Pelosi Names Douglas N. Letter New General Counsel of the House  —  San Francisco — Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi announced today that she will appoint Douglas N. Letter to be the new General Counsel of the House of Representatives.  —  Until February 2018, Letter served as the Director …

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.

Margot Kidder Played Every Character, No Matter How Small, With a Vivid Inner Life … Her fierce portrayals were informed — if not powered — by personal upheaval.  —  B. 1948  —  MARGOT KIDDER'S ONLY child, Maggie McGuane, wasn't sure she wanted to talk with me.

What Do Mueller and the Kremlin Know About Michael Cohen's Alleged Prague Trip?  —  No aspect of the scandal surrounding President Donald J. Trump's hidden relations with Russia has been more controversial than the reputed summer 2016 trip to the Czech Republic by Michael Cohen, Trump's longtime consigliere.

Trump Hasn't Ordered Afghan Troop Withdrawal, White House Says  — Official last week said 7,000 U.S. troops were coming home  — Latest Pentagon report describes conflict as at ‘an impasse’  —  Donald Trump hasn't ordered the Pentagon to withdraw troops from Afghanistan …

UNPREPARED AND OVERWHELMED  —  Failures by the Broward County Sheriff's Office and school district cost children their lives at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.  —  A gunman with an AR-15 fired the bullets, but a series of blunders, bad policies, sketchy training and poor leadership helped him succeed.

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.

Tucker Carlson's Show Sheds Advertisers After Immigration Comments: Report  —  Tucker Carlson's nightly show on Fox News has been hemorrhaging advertisers since the conservative host said that immigration makes the United States “poorer and dirtier and more divided” on Dec. 13, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

If You're Over 50, Chances Are the Decision to Leave a Job Won't be Yours  —  Tom Steckel hunched over a laptop in the overheated basement of the state Capitol building in Pierre, South Dakota, early last week, trying to figure out how a newly awarded benefit claims contract will make it easier for him do his job.

On the Front Line of the Saudi War in Yemen?  Child Soldiers from Darfur  —  KHARTOUM, Sudan — The civil war in Darfur robbed Hager Shomo Ahmed of almost any hope.  Raiders had stolen his family's cattle, and a dozen years of bloodshed had left his parents destitute.

Being Bigger Than the Person You're Asking Out Deemed Title IX Violation  —  Editor's Note: This article and its headline originally stated that a male student at the University of Missouri was found in violation of Title IX because he asked a female student on a date and “was perceived as having power over her.”

New E.P.A. Plan Could Free Coal Plants to Release More Mercury Into the Air  —  WASHINGTON — The Trump administration proposed on Friday major changes to the way the federal government calculates the benefits, in human health and safety, of restricting mercury emissions from coal-burning power plants.