Bernie alumni seek meeting to address ‘sexual violence’ on '16 campaign  —  More than two dozen women and men who worked on Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign are seeking a meeting with the senator and his top political advisers to “discuss the issue of sexual violence and harassment …

Trump Digs In, Darkening Hopes for a Deal to End the Shutdown  — The president has repeatedly called allies, reassuring them that he will not yield on his wall demands.  — But nine days into a partial government shutdown, Mr. Trump has not reached out to Democrats, whose votes he needs for a deal.

I Was A Cable Guy.  I Saw The Worst Of America.  —  A glimpse of the suburban grotesque, featuring Russian mobsters, Fox News rage addicts, a caged man in a sex dungeon, and Dick Cheney.  —  I can't tell you about a specific day as a cable tech.  I can't tell you my first customer was a cat hoarder.

Donald Trump is completely transforming the Democrats  —  Washington has long been a stranger to principle other than the principle of self advancement.  Yet, something new seems to be emerging across the country.  Politicians have long felt the need to disguise raw political agendas in the pretense of principle.

Elizabeth Warren Launches Exploratory Committee for President  —  www.elizabethwarren.com

US citizen arrested in Russian on spying charges  —  MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's domestic security agency says it has arrested a U.S. citizen on espionage charges.  —  The Federal Security Service, or FSB, the top KGB successor agency, said that the American man detained in Moscow on Friday.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren says she will seek the presidency in 2020  —  CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Sen. Elizabeth Warren jumped into the 2020 presidential campaign Monday, offering a message of economic populism as she became the best-known Democratic candidate yet to enter what is expected to be a crowded race.

Kelly, on His Way Out, Says Administration Long Ago Abandoned Idea of Concrete Wall  —  The concrete border wall that President Trump has repeatedly called for as a signature campaign promise is not actually a wall and has not been since “early on in the administration,” …

Our Exhausted American Mediocracy  —  The unlikely 2016 election of Donald Trump—the first president without either prior political or military office—was a repudiation of the American “aristocracy.”  By “rule of the best” I mean the ancien régime was no longer understood to suggest wealth and birth …

Trump's tweets: Judges in government secrecy cases say they are ‘speculation’ and not ‘pure fact’  —  “Speculation.”  “Unofficial information.”  “Political statements rather than assertions of pure fact.”  —  Those are words federal judges have used to describe President Donald Trump's tweets …

Shutdown Symbolism  —  $5 billion is a pittance in the budget, but blocking it would keep Trump from fulfilling his main campaign promise — and threaten his reelection.  —  This year, the United States government will have spent more than $4 trillion.  Right now, the government is shut …

Louis C.K. — Goes After Parkland Victims ... In Leaked Audio of New Stand-Up  —  As if Louis C.K. hadn't already hit bottom, he just went even lower by attacking victims of the Parkland massacre in a stand-up set ... this according to leaked audio of his new material.

Kellyanne Conway Busted In Florida After She Criticized Pelosi For Hawaii Visit During Shutdown  —  Kellyanne Conway criticized incoming Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi for being in Hawaii during the government shutdown, while Conway was in Florida apparently for Trump's New Year's Eve party.

The Media's Post-Advertising Future Is Also Its Past  —  It's my holiday tradition to bring tidings of discomfort and sorrow to my colleagues in the news business.  One year ago, I described the media apocalypse coming for both digital upstarts and legacy brands.

Republican candidate kept donations despite requests to return them, filings show  —  Despite calls for refunds, new campaign filings show Mississippi Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith kept $50,000 in donations from major companies like Walmart and Facebook in the wake of her controversial special election victory in November.

Trade deal unlikely under May's Brexit deal, US envoy warns UK  —  The U.K. will likely miss out on a HUGE Donald Trump-style trade deal if Prime Minister Theresa May wins parliamentary approval for her Brexit, the U.S. ambassador to Britain warned Monday.  —  Ambassador Woody Johnson …

French Resistance hero who saved hundreds of Jewish children dies aged 108  —  Georges Loinger escaped from German camp and spent rest of the war helping children cross Swiss border  —  Georges Loinger used all his skill and cunning - and a large dash of chutzpah - to rescue Jewish children …

Meet the Press - December 30, 2018  —  CHUCK TODD:  —  This Sunday, the climate crisis.  —  LESTER HOLT:  —  Brace yourselves for dangerous heat.  —  FELICIA MARCUS:  —  The drought we're in is disastrous.  Everyone ought to be worried about it.  —  GABE GUTTIEREZ:

Here's how Paradise ignored warnings and became a deathtrap … The fate of Paradise was cast long before a windstorm last month fueled the deadliest fire in California history.  —  The ridge settlement was doomed by its proximity to a crack in the mighty wall of the Sierra Nevada, a deep canyon that bellowed gale-force winds.