Politico reports: New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, the top Senate Democrat, said Thursday he will vote against Jeff Sessions for attorney general — saying he had concerns about whether the Alabama senator could be a sufficient check on Donald Trump. Schumer has repeatedly said he and Sessions are on good terms and regularly ride bikes together at the senators-only gym. …

The entire show was great and multiple clips are below. USA Today reports on one of the bits: Michelle Obama is continuing the goodbye speeches and appearances as she and her husband prepare to leave the White House next week. She wrapped her last late-night appearance Wednesday on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, with some encouragement and a few …

Maureen Dowd interviewed homocon billionaire and Trump advisor Peter Thiel for the New York Times. An excerpt: “I think Trump is very good on gay rights,” Mr. Thiel says. “I don’t think he will reverse anything. I would obviously be concerned if I thought otherwise.” I ask if he’s comfortable with the idea that Vice President-elect Mike Pence, regarded in …

Anderson was NOT having it. Mediaite reports: Kellyanne Conway and Anderson Cooper got into a massive heated back-and-forth tonight [last night] over CNN’s report last night on Trump being briefed about supposed “compromising” information against him. Cooper expressed his frustration that Sean Spicer appeared to be conflating CNN’s report with BuzzFeed’s, which included a dossier on that alleged Russian disinformation, …

The Daily Beast recaps: Bee began by talking about President Obama’s emotional farewell speech in Chicago the night before. “Here come the waterworks,” she said. “And speaking of waterworks…” From there, we were off and running on #GoldenShowerGate. “Hallelujah! It’s comedy Christmas!” Bee exclaimed as the words “People are saying… Trump likes pee???!!!” appeared behind her. “Oh bullshit,” she said …

Here is the official statement Clapper posted last night: This evening, I had the opportunity to speak with President-elect Donald Trump to discuss recent media reports about our briefing last Friday. I expressed my profound dismay at the leaks that have been appearing in the press, and we both agreed that they are extremely corrosive and damaging to our national …

Surprising and welcome. The Huffington Post reports: Smith said, on behalf of Fox News, that CNN followed “journalistic standards” in the report it published ― which was “distinctly different” from BuzzFeed’s. CNN’s story, unlike Buzzfeed’s, did not include the full, unedited dossier of unverified allegations made about Trump’s ties to Russia. Smith added that no journalists should be treated in …

A nutjob Christian group calling themselves Intercessors For America has quite the bizarre event planned. Helping them out will be the End-Time Handmaidens. I’m not kidding. Via press release: For too long, our adversary has built mighty walls around our elected officials in Washington, D.C. So, starting on Jan. 13, 2017, we will begin a seven-day Jericho march around the …

So much for “clean diesel.” NBC News reports: Volkswagen will pay a $4.3 billion penalty for diesel emissions rigging, the U.S. Justice Department and several other federal agencies announced on Wednesday. As a result of the criminal investigation into the diesel scandal, regulators also revealed that six executives have been indicted on charges ranging from wire fraud to conspiracy to …

Law Newz reports: Earlier today, Donald Trump held a press conference, where his attorney, Sheri Dillon, spoke regarding Trump’s business interests. As LawNewz.com noted, Dillon is a partner at the law firm Morgan Lewis & Bokius. Using the services of the firm makes sense for Trump, as Morgan Lewis is a world-renowned organization. In fact, just last year, Chambers and …

US Weekly reports: Caitlyn Jenner has accepted an invitation to attend Donald Trump’s inauguration on January 20, a source confirms to Us Weekly. The transgender star, who is a conservative Republican and was vocal about her dislike of Hillary Clinton on her E! show I Am Cait, has in the past said she wants to use her celebrity to benefit …

NK News reports: North Korea on Wednesday re-emphasized its nuclear capabilities and repeated claims it will test an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) in the coming months. In an apparent nod to the Trump administration, Pyongyang highlighted the need for the U.S. to accept North Korea as a nuclear-weapons state, Workers’ Party organ Rodong Sinmun said. “We have miniaturized, lightened and …

Via press release from the Anti-Defamation League: The President-Elect’s use of Nazi Germany to make a political analogy is not only an inappropriate comparison on the merits, but it also coarsens our discourse and diminishes the horror of the Holocaust. There are legitimate questions on all sides regarding foreign influence in the 2016 presidential race. But the United States has …

The Associated Press reports: Peru has taken a small step toward recognizing same-sex marriage with a court’s recognition of the Mexican marriage between two men. Peruvian gay rights activist Oscar Ugarteche tried to register his marriage to his Mexican partner shortly after the two were wed in Mexico City in 2010 so that he could change his marital status on …

Via Mediaite: During President-elect Donald Trump’s press conference today, Trump took aim at “fake news” regarding the release of an unverified dossier by Buzzfeed, calling them a “failing piece of garbage.” Following that, he ended up getting into an argument with a CNN reporter, who he also called out during the presser over their report on a two-page synopsis they …

The Hill reports: Garry Kasparov, an outspoken critic of Vladimir Putin, likened President-elect Donald Trump’s press conference Wednesday to ones held by leaders in the Soviet Union. “That reminded me of a Soviet press conference. More speakers than questions, more flags than answers,” Kasparov, the former world chess champion, wrote in a tweet during the press conference. Kasparov, the chairman …

UPDATE: Bumping this post back to the top because Cory Booker is due to testify shortly. Things have just started. Expect even more fireworks today, courtesy of Cory Booker. CNN reports: Sen. Cory Booker will make history Wednesday when he becomes the first sitting senator to testify against another sitting senator for a Cabinet post as he fights Jeff Sessions’ …

Catholic League blowhard and well-known supermodel Bill Donohue today used a just-issued study to declare that the female reporters at MSNBC are unattractive. It’s what Jesus would want. The reason that the study comes to its conclusion is rather interesting. The Washington Post reports: Research has found that being attractive influences many things in a person’s life — their salary, …

Well, this should prove VERY entertaining: President-elect Donald Trump is facing his most important day since the election. His news conference, Trump’s first since winning the election, was already looming as a significant rite of passage for someone who is undergoing a transformation from rabble-rousing candidate to the next American President. But new allegations involving Russia are sure to inject …

Gizmodo reports: Russian intelligence agencies allegedly have a video showing several prostitutes who were hired by Donald Trump to urinate on each other. And if this video really exists, then Penthouse, America’s most venerable pornography magazine, is willing to spend $1 million for it. Ridiculous nonsense? Probably. But if you really do have this tape, you could make out like …