The Washington Examiner reports: President Trump called out MSNBC host Mika Brzezinski after she was slammed with heavy criticism following her use of a what some characterized as a homophobic phrase to describe Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s response to the murder of Jamal Khashoggi. When discussing what she characterized as an uninspired response from Pompeo to the killing of …

Mediaite reports: A former staffer on The Apprentice and current stand-up comic named Noel Casler claims that Donald Trump was a “speed freak” who snorted crushed-up Adderall, and also says that Trump invited teen beauty pageant contestants up to his suite. Casler told the crowd “I’m not kidding this is true. I had a 24-page NDA non-disclosure agreement, I didn’t …

Pitchfork reports: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 2019 inductees have been announced. Radiohead, the Cure, Janet Jackson, Stevie Nicks, Roxy Music, Def Leppard, and the Zombies are the latest class of inductees. The 34th Annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony is happening on March 29 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Stevie Nicks, the first …

“I believe that we all know well that this is not a normal time, that the threats to our democracy from within and without are real, and none of us can say with confidence how the situation that we now find ourselves in will turn out. To say that our politics is not healthy is something of an understatement. “Let …

Newsweek reports: Fox News host and President Donald Trump superfan, Sean Hannity, was caught deleting past tweets that tied him to the president’s former attorney, Michael Cohen, just hours before Cohen was sentenced to three years in prison Wednesday. A “Screenshot Bot” Twitter account uncovered Hannity’s attempt to sever past ties with Cohen, who Trump recently referred to as “weak,” …

Talking Points Memo reports: Accused Russian agent Maria Butina pleaded guilty in a Washington, D.C. federal courtroom today to a conspiracy charge, according to reports from the courthouse. CNN reported that Butina admitted at the plea hearing to “knowingly engaging in conspiracy against the United States.” Butina ran much of her infiltration campaign while studying at a master’s program at …

Yesterday the House Workforce Committee canceled a hearing on the minimum wage after one of its witnesses, San Diego State economics professor Joseph Sabia, was revealed to have written misogynistic and anti-gay blog posts, one of which called for “taxing and regulating homosexual acts.” Well, we have an update: In a statement, Sabia apologized and said the post was satirical. …

Back in September, Roy Moore filed a $95 million defamation suit against Showtime after Sasha Baron Cohen trolled him with a “pedophile detector” on the show which earlier this week earned a Golden Globe nomination. Showtime’s parent company CBS has filed a motion to dismiss, prompting a rebuttal from busy, busy nutbag lawyer Larry Klayman. From the Hollywood Reporter:  “There …

NPR reports: Apple plans to build a 133-acre campus in Austin, Texas, that will cost $1 billion and employ 5,000 new workers, the company announced Thursday. The company says the move is expected to make it the largest private employer in Austin. Apple already employs more people in Austin, some 6,200 workers, than it does in any other city outside …

CNN reports: Rep. Adam Schiff argued today that the Department of Justice “needs to re-examine” the Office of Legal Counsel’s opinion that a sitting US president should not be indicted. “I think the Justice Department needs to re-examine that OLC opinion, the Office of Legal Counsel opinion, that you cannot indict a sitting president under circumstances in which the failure …

NBC News reports: Despite President Donald Trump’s public declaration that he isn’t concerned about impeachment, he has told people close to him in recent days that he is alarmed by the prospect, according to multiple sources. Trump’s fear about the possibility has escalated as the consequences of federal investigations involving his associates and Democratic control of the House sink in, …

Fox News reports: Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich on Thursday adamantly denied that he’s being considered for White House chief of staff, shooting down speculation that surged in the press after he was spotted visiting 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue a day earlier. Speaking on “Fox & Friends,” Gingrich said he and his wife Callista were merely there looking at the Christmas …

NBC News reports: President Donald Trump on Thursday said he “never directed” Michael Cohen, his former lawyer who was sentenced on multiple charges a day earlier, “to break the law.” In a follow-up tweet, Trump said without providing evidence that campaign finance lawyers have told him that he “did nothing wrong with respect to campaign finance laws, if they even …

The Washington Post reports: More than two decades after the Southern Baptist Convention — the country’s second-largest faith group — apologized to African Americans for its active defense of slavery in the 1800s, its flagship seminary on Wednesday released a stark report further delineating its ties to institutionalized racism. The year-long study by the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary found that …

The New York Times reports: The North Carolina Legislature on Wednesday approved a bill requiring new primary elections if the state elections board calls for a second vote of a congressional election. The measure opens the door for Republicans to consider replacing Mark Harris, their candidate in the disputed race in the Ninth Congressional District. The bill, backed by substantial …

Bloomberg reports: Michael Cohen, the former lawyer and fixer for President Donald Trump, is willing to reveal publicly what he knows about his former client once Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation is complete and findings are released, Cohen’s lawyer said Wednesday. “There will come a time after Mr. Mueller is done with his work that Michael Cohen will be sitting …

Fox News reports: President Trump has canceled the White House holiday party for the media, making the decades-old tradition a victim of his increasingly contentious relationship with major news organizations. The annual Christmas-season gathering was a significant perk for those covering the White House, as well as other Washington reporters, anchors and commentators, and New York media executives would regularly …

Engadget reports: As is the annual tradition, Google has released its list of top trending searches for the year. If 2018 was dominated by anything, it was untimely and unexpected celebrity deaths. The top 10 trending searches included DJ and musician Avicii, rapper Mac Miller, legendary comics creator Stan Lee, celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, controversial rapper XXXTentacion, theoretical physicist Stephen …

The New York Post reports: The streaming giant Netflix is notoriously tight-lipped about its audience numbers, but today it disclosed its top 10 most binged original shows of 2018. Among the leaders, which were presented in no particular order, is “Bodyguard,” the Golden Globe-nominated BBC co-production starring “Game of Thrones” breakout Richard Madden; and the Halloween spooktacular, “The Haunting of …

Courthouse News reports: With Vice President Mike Pence casting the tie-breaking vote, the Senate has narrowly confirmed a judge to the Eighth Circuit whom the American Bar Association rated as not qualified. Jonathan Kobes, who has served since 2014 as general counsel to Senator Mike Rounds, R-S.D., will be the second Trump appointee on the Eighth Circuit the Senate has …