Politico reports: Republican National Committee Chairman and incoming White House chief of staff Reince Priebus said Wednesday morning that President-elect Donald Trump was never briefed on unverified intelligence suggesting that the Russian government possesses compromising information about him and his campaign, contradicting a CNN report to the contrary. Reports that Trump and President Barack Obama were briefed on that unverified …

The Associated Press reports: North Dakota’s Republican-led Senate rejected a measure Tuesday that would have changed state law to reflect the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision that same-sex couples have the right to marry. The bill failed 15-31. It would have changed dozens of references, such as “husband and wife,” to gender-neutral terms. North Dakota law lists “one man, one woman” …

The hearing starts on 9AM Eastern. The Guardian reports on what to expect: Rex Tillerson was a surprise pick for secretary of state, having had no previous government experience. He worked for more than 41 years for just one company, ExxonMobil, the last 10 years as chairman and chief executive officer. He emerged as an outside candidate only in the …

From CNN’s KFile team: Monica Crowley, Donald Trump’s pick for a senior national security communications role, plagiarized multiple sources in some of her columns for the Washington Times, a CNN KFile review has found. CNN’s KFile reviewed close to 50 of Crowley’s columns over the past five years, finding examples of plagiarism in seven. Crowley is a columnist for the …

The advertiser boycott of Breitbart really has them losing their shit. They write: An anonymous group of left-wing Twitter trolls has convinced the New York State Department of Health to withdraw ads promoting colorectal cancer screening from Breitbart News. The public service announcement, which ran in an advertising space on Breitbart.com read: “We got screened for colon cancer when we …

Vile Fox News commentator Laura Ingraham appeared on Sean Hannity’s show last night to mock President Obama for getting teary-eyed during his farewell address. Upon the urging of Hannity, Ingraham asked for tissue and then dramatically dabbed her eyes, declaring that she’d “never seen a man grab a tissue” like that before. Ingraham: “A man, would be like, whatever.” Watch …

NOW he’s against leaks. The New York Times reports: Russia has denied having any compromising material on President-elect Donald J. Trump, saying on Wednesday that an uncorroborated report containing salacious allegations about him was “pulp fiction” intended to hurt Russian-American relations. “The Kremlin has no compromising dossier on Mr. Trump, such information is not consistent with reality and is nothing …

The Hill reports: President-elect Donald Trump’s top aide Kellyanne Conway on Tuesday said that Trump was not briefed on a summary of an unsubstantiated but explosive dossier that claims Russia collected compromising info on him. CNN on Tuesday reported that the Intelligence Community briefed the president-elect and President Obama last week about the allegations by appending a two-page synopsis, based …

From laughter at Trump to sorrow and deep abiding thanks to President Obama, whose farewell speech begins at 9PM Eastern. ABC News reports on what to expect: In a farewell address to the American people Tuesday night, President Obama is expected to reaffirm his belief in the ability of ordinary Americans to bring about positive change in country, according to …

So this is the bit from the alleged Russia intel leak that is blowing up Twitter: However, there were other aspects to TRUMP’s engagement with the Russian authorities. One which had borne fruit for them was to exploit TRUMP’s personal obsessions and sexual perversion in order to obtain suitable “kompromat” (compromising material) on him. According to Source D, where s/he …

And we can bet that Trump knows what they know. Hence, the Putin love affair. CNN reports: Classified documents presented last week to President Obama and President-elect Trump included allegations that Russian operatives claim to have compromising personal and financial information about Mr. Trump, multiple US officials with direct knowledge of the briefings tell CNN. The allegations were presented in …

The New York Times reports: Dylann S. Roof, the impenitent and inscrutable white supremacist who killed nine African-American churchgoers in a brazenly racial assault almost 19 months ago, shocking the world over the persistence of extremist hatred in dark corners of the American South, was condemned to death by a federal jury on Tuesday. The jury of nine whites and …

According to reports on Twitter, today inauguration planner Tom Barrack told the press that he plans to surround Trump with “soft sensuality” rather than a horde of celebrity A-listers. For real. Barrack, a billionaire real estate investor, spoke at the Republican Convention and was a top fundraiser for the pro-Trump Rebuilding America Now Super PAC. He is also, incidentally, the …

The Raleigh News & Observer reports: The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday put a court-ordered legislative redistricting and 2017 special election on hold while it reviews Republican legislators’ appeal in an ongoing lawsuit. A lower federal court ruled months ago that the current legislative districts are an unconstitutional racial gerrymander, and it ordered the General Assembly to draw new districts …

AlterNet reports: James O’Keefe, the conservative operative whose discredited video “stings” have resulted in him paying massive fines and apologizing to his targets, is up to his usual stunts. This time, O’Keefe’s Project Veritas—a hilarious name for an organization that has nothing but contempt for the truth—is taking aim at anti-Trump activists and critics. The group’s latest con, which takes …

Because of course. Reuters reports: Vaccination skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he will oversee a presidential panel to review vaccine safety and science at the request of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump in a move likely to reignite debate despite now-debunked research that tied childhood immunizations to autism. “President-elect Trump has some doubts about the current vaccine policy, and he …

The New York Post reports: Former Sen. Al D’Amato was escorted off a JetBlue flight Monday night after trying to lead passengers in a rebellion against seating changes that followed a lengthy delay, an eyewitness told The Post. JetBlue flight 1002 from Ft. Lauderdale to JFK was scheduled to depart at 1:40 pm Monday, but didn’t take off until 8 …

Via press release from hate group leader Tony Perkins: Some people have to-do lists. President-elect Donald Trump has an undo list. And thanks to Secretary of State John Kerry, most of it is already meticulously outlined in a new memo. The report couldn’t have come at a better time for conservatives, who have spent the last few weeks pointing out …

He’ll follow them until Trump stacks the Court against them. The Independent reports: Incoming attorney general Jeff Sessions admitted that he still opposed same-sex marriage and Roe v Wade, a 1973 law that guarantees a women’s right to an abortion. Mr Sessions said he would “respect and follow” both laws in their current form, but admitted he still held his …

The New York Times reports: HarperCollins is withdrawing the digital edition of Monica Crowley’s 2012 book “What the (Bleep) Just Happened?” from retailers, after evidence of plagiarism. Its decision to recall the book comes after a report by CNN that Ms. Crowley, a conservative columnist and TV personality who was chosen by President-elect Donald J. Trump for a high-ranking communications …