The BBC reports: The UK’s advertising watchdog has said it will ban “gender stereotypes that are likely to cause harm, or serious or widespread offence”. The Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP) said harmful stereotypes in adverts “contribute to how people see themselves and their role in society”, and can hold some people back. The ban will cover men struggling with …

“One of the hopes that I have out of the punishment that I’ve received, as well as the cooperation that I have given, I will be remembered in history as helping to bring this country back together. It’s never good to be on the wrong side of the president of the United States of America. But somehow or another, this …

The New York Daily News reports: City anti-discrimination law trumped religious rules in the case of a Jewish lesbian comic Brooklyn rabbis sought to bar from performing at a kosher restaurant on New Year’s Eve. The Vaad Harabanim of Flatbush had put the kosher kibosh on Leah Forster’s gig after it decided allowing the restaurant to host it would be …

Business Insider reports: An angry-looking Theresa May confronted European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Friday after EU leaders rejected her latest Brexit proposals and he publicly chastised her approach to negotiations. Arriving at a meeting of European leaders in Brussels this morning, May was filmed approaching Juncker and having what looked like a frosty exchange with the EU chief. She …

The Washington Post reports: North Carolina congressional candidate Mark Harris (R) directed the hiring of a campaign aide now at the center of an election-fraud investigation, according to three individuals familiar with the campaign, despite warnings that the operative may have used questionable tactics to deliver votes. Harris sought out the operative, Leslie McCrae Dowless, after losing a 2016 election …

Newsweek reports: On Thursday evening, Kellyanne Conway defended President Donald Trump over accusations of lying, criticizing CNN’s Chris Cuomo during a heated on-air debate. Trump has come under fire for denying he directed Cohen to make payments to Daniels—legal name Stephanie Clifford—and Karen McDougal during his presidential campaign. Her remarks are in stark contrast to the views of her husband, …

“I wanted to address a term that I used on this show on Wednesday that was vulgar. I knew it right away and I tweeted that it was a terrible choice of words and that I was sorry. But, please allow me to say this face to face: The term is crass and offensive and I apologize to everyone, especially …

Politico reports: The Trump administration said Thursday it will cancel thousands of borrowers’ federal student loans, carrying out an Obama-era policy that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos had fought to kill. The move comes as DeVos is being forced to implement a package of regulations that created more protections for student loan borrowers who were affected by a school closure or …

Axios reports: President Trump met with Chris Christie on Thursday evening and considers him a top contender to replace John Kelly as chief of staff, according to a source familiar with the president’s thinking. “He’s tough; he’s an attorney; he’s politically-savvy, and one of Trump’s early supporters.” Trump has met with a couple of others, but the way he’s discussed …

ABC News reports: Donald Trump directed Michael Cohen to arrange hush-money payments with two women because then-candidate Trump “was very concerned about how this would affect the election” if their allegations of affairs became public, the president’s former personal attorney said in an exclusive interview with ABC News. “I knew what I was doing was wrong,” Cohen told ABC News’ …

Live Science reports: Long-lost cultures are sometimes known by the goods they leave behind. The Neolithic Corded Ware people of Europe, for example, got their name from the distinctive decorated pottery they made. If today’s humans ever get a similar moniker, we might be known as the Chicken People. Domesticated chickens, it turns out, could be a signpost for future …

The New York Times reports: Senator Elizabeth Warren and Senator Bernie Sanders met Wednesday night at her condominium in Washington to discuss their political intentions but did not reach any accord about coordinating their dueling presidential ambitions, according to two Democrats briefed on their discussion. Only the two senators were present and they stated what has become abundantly clear: that …

CBS News reports: Jared Kushner, President Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser, is under consideration to become the next White House chief of staff, CBS News chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett has confirmed, citing a source familiar with the process. Kushner met with Mr. Trump on Wednesday to discuss the job.  Current White House chief of staff John Kelly is set …

Media Matters reports: The National Rifle Association is encouraging people to buy its membership by playing on the fact that service members will be away from their families during the holidays. In the two-minute spot released on December 12, NRA President Oliver North points out, “As we gather with loved ones this holiday season, tens of thousands of American soldiers, …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Federal prosecutors in Manhattan are investigating whether President Trump’s 2017 inaugural committee misspent some of the record $107 million it raised from donations, people familiar with the matter said. The criminal probe by the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office, which is in its early stages, also is examining whether some of the committee’s top donors gave …

NBC News reports: Donald Trump was the third person in the room in August 2015 when his lawyer Michael Cohen and National Enquirer publisher David Pecker discussed ways Pecker could help counter negative stories about Trump’s relationships with women, NBC News has confirmed. The “Statement of Admitted Facts” says that AMI admitted making a $150,000 payment “in concert with the …

The Washington Post reports: The Senate voted, 57-38, to end U.S. military involvement in Yemen as lawmakers continue to express outrage and frustration with the president’s refusal to condemn Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi despite the CIA’s finding that Mohammed likely is responsible. Thursday’s action is largely symbolic, as the resolution is …

The Associated Press reports: Police say they have arrested a man suspected of sucker-punching a woman and fracturing her spine in an anti-gay attack aboard a New York City subway train. Allah Allasheed was charged Thursday with assault as a hate crime in the Nov. 30 attack in Queens aboard a Manhattan-bound E train. The 54-year-old’s arrest comes days after …

Axios reports: President Trump, who has deemed himself “a Tariff Man” and made tariffs a centerpiece of his presidential agenda, incorrectly explained how they work during an interview with Fox News’ Harris Faulkner. “We have placed tremendous tariffs on China. When China sends things into America now, they’re paying 25% interest on everything they send in.” Reality check: Tariffs are …

Law & Crime reports: Trump joined Fox host Harris Faulkner for an interview Thursday afternoon in no small part to defend himself against the accusation that he was implicated in a crime when his ex-lawyer Michael Cohen was sentenced for campaign finance violations. One of the things he threw out there was the idea that Cohen pleaded guilty to keep …