Democratic insiders: Bernie could win the nomination  —  Suddenly, Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign is being taken seriously.  —  For months, the Vermont senator was written off by Democratic Party insiders as a candidate with a committed but narrow base who was too far left to win the primary.

Trump ‘Home Alone 2’ scene reportedly cut from Canadian Christmas broadcasts  —  President Trump's cameo scene in the holiday classic “Home Alone 2: Lost In New York” was reportedly cut from showings of the movie on Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) this month.

The Christmas Eve Confessions of Chuck Todd  —  That disinformation was going to overtake Republican politics was discoverable years before he says he discovered it.  —  'Round midnight on Christmas eve, Rolling Stone posted a short interview with Chuck Todd, host of “the longest running show on television,” NBC's Meet the Press.

Trump lashes out at Pelosi on Christmas, decries ‘scam impeachment’  —  President Trump on Wednesday lashed out at Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in a pair of tweets Christmas night, decrying what he called a “Scam Impeachment.”  —  “Why should Crazy Nancy Pelosi, just because she has a slight majority …

Trump struggles when asked about Ukraine messages from Putin  —  For nearly three years, Donald Trump has ignored his own country's intelligence community and believed that Ukraine intervened in the U.S. elections in 2016 in the hopes of undermining his candidacy.

Trump stock market rally is far outpacing past US presidents  — The S&P 500 has returned more than 50% since President Trump was elected, more than double the average market return of presidents three years into their term, according to Bespoke Investment Group.

Colorado hits a new milestone with unaffiliated voters and busts the myth about its even partisan split  —  To make a case that he can win over a divided nation, Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bennet often points to his home state.  —  “This is a state that is exactly a third Democrat …

Public support for Trump conviction at all-time high, poll finds  —  Donald Trump's removal from office is the highest it has ever been, according to a new poll.  —  Fifty-five per cent of those asked said they were in favour of the US president's conviction by the Senate, a figure which has shot up from 48 per cent the week before.

The Year of Batshit Crazy at One America News, Trump's New Favorite Cable-News Channel  —  Trump in 2019 began attacking Fox News when its news side seemed insufficiently loyal to him.  Such an opportunity presented itself for OAN to vie for the president's affections.

At each end of Pacific, skepticism over China farm purchases  —  OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — President Donald Trump likes to joke that America's farmers have a nice problem on their hands: They're going to need bigger tractors to keep up with surging Chinese demand for their soybeans …

Donald Trump has violated his oath.  Mitch McConnell is about to violate 2  —  We Kentuckians know that our word is our bond.  Oaths are the most solemn of promises, and their breach results in serious reputational — and sometimes legal — consequences.  —  President Donald Trump will soon …

The Gripes of a Trump Supporter  —  I consider Donald Trump one of the greatest presidents this country has ever known.  He exudes love of America, boldly pursues excellence, and governs based on incisive common sense rather than nauseating political correctness.  —  That said:

China, Russia and Iran to hold joint naval drills from Friday  —  BEIJING (Reuters) - China, Iran and Russia will hold joint naval drills starting on Friday in the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Oman, China's defense ministry said on Thursday，amid heightened tension in the region between Iran and the United States.

By the numbers: a 2019 money-in-politics index  —  The Center for Public Integrity is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates betrayals of public trust.  Sign up to receive our stories.  —  With a federal government lurching from crisis to crisis and a presidential election afoot …

Bernie Sanders on healthcare, homelessness and Trump  —  Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) stopped by the L.A. Times office to talk with our editorial board about his run for the Democratic nomination for president.  —  3 AM  —  Warming up for a giant campaign rally in Venice on Dec. 21 …

R.I.P. GMIB.  Long live GMIB.  —  What happened at SB Nation and what comes next.  —  2 hr  —  Átropos (The Fates), Francisco Goya  —  TL;DR — I'm no longer at SB Nation, so if you want to continue to receive Good Morning It's Basketball, you need to subscribe to the new version, published here on Substack.

Democrats' denial on health care may produce Trump's reelection  —  As this shabby year, and with it a dispiriting decade, sags to an end, there is an interesting symmetry.  In 2010, passage of the Affordable Care Act signaled the nation's domestic policy preoccupation: health care.

Democrats seize on anti-Obamacare ruling to steamroll GOP in 2020  —  A court ruling last week putting the Affordable Care Act further in jeopardy may provide the opening Democrats have been waiting for to regain the upper hand on health care against Republicans in 2020.

Ari Behn, Norwegian princess' ex and Kevin Spacey accuser, dead at 47  —  Ari Behn, a former member of Norway's royal family who was one of Kevin Spacey's sexual assault accusers, died by suicide on Wednesday, his manager said.  He was 47.  —  “It is with great sadness in our hearts …

Hallmark movies are fascist propaganda  —  Forget “Triumph of the Will” — the most insidious authoritarian propaganda comes in the form of schmaltz  —  The Hallmark Channel has been having a rough go of it in the past few weeks.  The cable TV behemoth, which has been minting money …