“I’m tired of all the fighting in Washington. You can’t turn on the news or read the headlines online without being overwhelmed by all of the political squabbling (to put it mildly). The news media are so vicious and relentless in their fault finding and their attacks on the president. It’s just sickening. We have the potential for so much …

The Associated Press reports: Iraqi lawmakers Thursday demanded U.S. forces leave the country in the wake of a surprise visit by President Donald Trump that politicians denounced as arrogant and a violation of Iraqi sovereignty. Politicians from both blocs of Iraq’s divided Parliament called for a vote to expel U.S. troops and promised to schedule an extraordinary session to debate …

The Rising reports: Rudy Giuliani has an unmistakable New Year’s message for special counsel Robert Mueller: It is time for the chief investigator in the Russia case to be investigated in 2019. “Mueller should be investigated for destruction of evidence for allowing those text messages from Strzok to be erased, messages that would show the state of mind and tactics …

McClatchy reports: A mobile phone traced to President Donald Trump’s former lawyer and “fixer” Michael Cohen briefly sent signals ricocheting off cell towers in the Prague area in late summer 2016, at the height of the presidential campaign, leaving an electronic record to support claims that Cohen met secretly there with Russian officials, four people with knowledge of the matter …

The New York City Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings has upheld a ruling by the Taxi & Limousine Commission against cabbie Martin Morrison for ejecting a gay passenger. The New York Post reports: The male and female complainants said they got into Morrison’s cab at the corner of Fifth Avenue and East 43rd Street in Manhattan just before 1 …

NBC News reports: The Trump Foundation and the Trump Organization shared much more than President Donald Trump’s last name. And that’s why, experts said, the New York state investigations into the charity could envelop the president’s namesake business. “Nothing but overlap here. It all was held so tightly by he and his family members,” NBC News/MSNBC legal analyst Glenn Kirschner, …

Talking Points Memo reports: The 4th Circuit Court of Appeals froze a lawsuit accusing Trump of violating the constitution’s emoluments clause, after DOJ attorneys asked for a halt to their appeal, saying that the ongoing government shutdown will prevent them from doing their work. “The Department does not know when funding will be restored by Congress,” DOJ attorneys representing Trump …

The Daily Beast reports: Elon Musk has filed a motion to dismiss the defamation claim brought by a British cave diver who the Tesla CEO called “pedo guy” and a “child rapist,” saying his “over-the-top insults” weren’t supposed to be taken seriously. Vern Unsworth is one of the cave divers who helped rescue 12 Thai boys and their soccer coach …

Gallup reports: For the first time in 17 years, a woman other than Hillary Clinton has been named by Americans as the woman they admire most. Former first lady Michelle Obama, who finished second to Clinton three times and is currently touring to promote her recently released autobiography, won by a significant margin this year. Oprah Winfrey was second, with …

The Hill reports: President Trump early Thursday resumed his feud with Democrats on Capitol Hill over funding for a border wall, claiming that most of the hundreds of thousands of federal employees furloughed or forced to work without pay due to a partial government shutdown are Democrats. The president did not provide an explanation for his claim. Have the Democrats …

“You protect us. We are always going to protect you. And you just saw that, ’cause you just got one of the biggest pay raises you’ve ever received. You haven’t gotten one in more than 10 years. More than 10 years. And we got you a big one. I got you a big one. I got you a big one. …

Last night CBS aired the 2018 Kennedy Center Honors, which took place early this month. From a highlights review: Whoopi Goldberg pays affectionate tribute to Cher in word and wardrobe. Little Big Town presents a medley of “Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves,” “I Found Someone” and “Baby Don’t Go.” Cyndi Lauper struts through a ferocious “(If I Could) Turn Back Time” …

The BBC reports: TV art historian and nun Sister Wendy Beckett has died at the age of 88, it has been announced. In the 1990s she became one of the most unlikely television stars. Emerging from her hermit-like existence in a caravan at a Carmelite convent in Norfolk, she hosted unscripted BBC shows from galleries across the world. Born in …

Newsweek reports: President Donald Trump and the White House communications team revealed that a U.S. Navy SEAL team was deployed to Iraq after the president secretly traveled to the region to meet with American forces serving in a combat zone for the first time since being elected to office. The president’s video posted Wednesday did not shield the faces of …

Variety reports: The exhibition business came roaring back in 2018, as blockbusters such as “Black Panther,” “Avengers: Infinity War,” and “Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom” powered ticket sales to record levels. The domestic box office hit a new high-water mark of $11.5 billion and global revenues also have a chance of reaching new heights if Christmas releases such as “Aquaman” and …

Reuters reports: President Donald Trump on Wednesday defended his decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria during an unannounced visit to Iraq, saying that many people will start seeing things on Syria the same way he does. Trump made the decision on Syria abruptly last week, against the advice of top aides and commanders, including Defense Secretary James Mattis, who …

Politico reports: The President of the United States is the “worst” perpetrator of misinformation on the internet, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression and Opinion David Kaye said in an interview published today. “Governments are real offenders when it comes to disinformation,” said Kaye. “In my own country, the United States, the worst perpetrator of false information is …

CNN reports: House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows, one of President Donald Trump’s closest allies, on Wednesday described Trump’s resolve to hold out for $5 billion in border wall funding as “very firm” as the partial government shutdown entered its fifth day. Having spoken to the President since Saturday, the North Carolina Republican described Democrats as “misreading” Trump if they …

The Daily Beast reports: More than 4 million children endured school lockdowns last year, according to a Washington Post report based on a review of news stories and data from school districts in 31 of the country’s largest cities. Experiencing a lockdown can be extremely traumatizing for children, with some soiling themselves and writing what they believe to be their …

USA Today reports: Asking voters their pick for president more than a year before the primaries begin typically doesn’t tell you much beyond name recognition. Instead of asking about support, a USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll tested which Democratic candidates now seem intriguing to voters, and who turns them off, in an effort to get clues about the dynamic ahead. Landing …