Bloomberg reports: U.S. stocks staged one of the biggest rallies of the 9 1/2 year bull market after coming withing points of seeing it end, with major indexes surging at least 4.9 percent. Crude jumped almost 10 percent. All but one member of the S&P 500 advanced, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped more than 1,050 points and the Nasdaq …

Massachusetts Live reports: The sexual assault case against actor Kevin Spacey reportedly includes a Snapchat video of him touching the front of the alleged victim’s pants, according to a Massachusetts State Police investigative report. Spacey is facing a count of indecent assault on a person over the age of 14 for allegedly groping the teenage son of former WCVB news …

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports: State senator and former Republican gubernatorial candidate Michael Williams turned himself into Hall County jail Wednesday, days after news broke that he had been indicted on charges that included insurance fraud. Williams’ attorney, A.J. Richman, said he negotiated bond with the district attorney and that his client will be “out soon.” The charges against the Forsyth …

The Associated Press reports: The drumbeat of bad news for President Donald Trump hasn’t been good for his most prominent backer in the media. Fox News Channel’s Sean Hannity has been slumping in the ratings since the midterm elections and ominous stories related to Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation of the president. His show averaged 2.76 million viewers since the …

The New York Post reports: President Trump used the cover of the partial government shutdown to slip off to visit US troops in Iraq. Trump and first lady Melania Trump met with military personnel on Wednesday at Al Asad Air Base in Iraq, according to photos from Reuters. His whereabouts sparked speculation about what Trump was up to because he …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Matthew Whitaker, the acting U.S. Attorney General, has incorrectly claimed on his résumé and in government documents to have been named an Academic All-American while playing football at the University of Iowa, according to the documents and the organization that awards that honor. Mr. Whitaker, who was a tight end on the Iowa team from …

Another win for Wayne Besen’s Truth Wins Out. NBC News reports: Apple has removed from its online store a religious app accused of falsely portraying being gay as an “addiction,” “sickness,” and “sin” after a national gay-rights organization petitioned to have it pulled. Truth Wins Out, which says it fights “anti-gay religious extremism,” launched a petition Thursday urging Apple to …

The Associated Press reports: U.S. Customs and Border Protection has ordered medical checks on every child in its custody after an 8-year-old boy from Guatemala died, marking the second death of an immigrant child in the agency’s care this month. The death came during an ongoing dispute over border security and with a partial government shutdown underway over President Donald …

“The way [Trump] did it in the face of the president of Turkey, basically abandoning our allies [the Kurds], who the Turks see as terrorists, is just a horrible piece of foreign policy. I am very disappointed in the president that he would do this in this fashion. We need to stand for our allies, particularly allies who have fought …

Talking Points Memo reports: President Barack Obama visited troops on a base in Hawaii every year of his presidency.  Trump skipped the tradition this year, adding yet another strike to his 2018 record. He garnered backlash earlier this year when he cancelled appearances at a burial site in Paris and Arlington National Cemetery in quick succession. He has also yet …

USA Today reports: Nancy Pelosi accused President Donald Trump of using “scare tactics” to build support for his proposed U.S.-Mexican border wall, which she joked had been reduced from a giant, cement structure “to, I think, a beaded curtain.” Trump and congressional Democrats remain locked in a bitter stalemate over billions of dollars in funding for the wall, which Trump …

The New York Times reports: The United States Navy has come a long way, from its first wooden frigates to today’s nuclear carriers. But in all that time, one thing remained almost as fixed as the North Star: A skipper’s power to throw troublesome sailors in the brig with nothing to eat but bread and water. Though it sounds like …

The Detroit Free Press reports: Readers, we are honored and privileged to bring you the single greatest piece of news you’ve heard in your entire life. A study out of the University of California-Irvine has revealed that consumption of moderate amounts of alcohol and coffee is linked to living a longer life. Re-read that last sentence. There are no typos. …

CNN reports: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday and is recuperating at home after undergoing surgery, according to a court spokesperson. “Justice Ginsburg was discharged from the hospital yesterday and is recuperating at home,” said Kathy Arberg, public information officer for the Supreme Court. There is no evidence of any remaining disease nor …

Politico reports: Sen. Sherrod Brown hasn’t decided whether he’s running for president — but he’s checking off a lot of the boxes that come along the way. The Ohio Democrat is reaching out to fellow senators and party officials in early primary and caucus states. His team is collecting résumés for potential campaign workers in those states. He is airing …

The Moscow Times reports: The speaker of Russia’s parliament raised the possibility of changing the constitution as speculation grows that the Kremlin is considering ways to allow President Vladimir Putin to remain in power beyond the end of his current term, when current law requires him to step down. The comments from Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the State Duma and …

The Guardian reports: Japan is facing international condemnation after confirming it will resuming commercial whaling for the first time in more than 30 years The country’s fleet will resume commercial operations in July next 2019, the government’s chief spokesman, Yoshihide Suga, said of the decision to defy the 1986 global ban on commercial whaling. Suga told reporters the country’s fleet …

The New York Times reports: In the fall of 1968, Donald J. Trump received a timely diagnosis of bone spurs in his heels that led to his medical exemption from the military during Vietnam. Now a possible explanation has emerged about the documentation. It involves a foot doctor in Queens who rented his office from Mr. Trump’s father, Fred C. …

Mediaite reports: President Donald Trump capped off Christmas Day with by hoping everyone was having a great Christmas, even the “fake news media.” It followed Christmas Day remarks, when Trump said this from the White House: “It’s a disgrace what’s happening in our country. But other than that, I wish everybody a very Merry Christmas. Thank you very much.” Trump’s …

UPI reports: A Los Angeles doctor said he’s seeing an increase in smartphone photo-snapping patients suffering from “selfie wrist.” Dr. Levi Harrison, an orthopedic surgeon, said patients have been coming in complaining of pain in their wrists and tingling in their fingers as a result of hyper-flexing their wrists when taking selfies with their smartphones. “It’s a form of carpal …