News

The Hill reports: Outgoing White House chief of staff John Kelly is blaming former Attorney General Jeff Sessions for a policy that led to the separations of thousands of migrant families at the southern border. “What happened was Jeff Sessions, he was the one that instituted the zero-tolerance process on the border that resulted in both people being detained and …

The New York Times reports: About two-thirds of Republicans returning to the House for the 116th Congress this week have never experienced the exquisite pain of being on the outs in an institution where the party in charge is totally in charge. Majority control runs the gamut from determining the floor agenda to determining access to the prime meeting space. …

The New York Daily News reports: House Republicans say more investigation is needed into decisions made by the FBI and the Justice Department in 2016 as they brought an unceremonious end to their yearlong look at the department’s handling of probes into Democrat Hillary Clinton’s emails and Donald Trump’s ties to Russia. The wrapping up of the congressional investigation, done …

The Detroit Free Press reports: Republican Gov. Rick Snyder on Friday signed a law making it harder for groups to put proposals on the Michigan ballot, imposing a geographical-based requirement that could prevent them from gathering signatures for petitions mainly from the most populated areas. The move followed voters’ passage of three Democratic-backed proposals last month and Republicans’ unprecedented tactic …

Reuters reports: Sears Holdings Corp Chairman Eddie Lampert has submitted a roughly $4.6 billion takeover bid for the bankrupt U.S. retailer, representing its only chance of escaping liquidation and laying off tens of thousands of workers, people familiar with the matter said on Friday. The offer came after Sears’ existing lenders Bank of America Corp and Citigroup Inc, as well …

The Washington Post reports: Incoming House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer said Friday that Democrats next week will not seat a North Carolina Republican amid allegations of election fraud in the state’s 9th Congressional District. “Given the now well-documented election fraud that took place in NC-09, Democrats would object to any attempt by [Mark] Harris to be seated on January …

CNBC reports: President Donald Trump has cancelled his New Year’s plans and will stay in Washington, D.C., as the government shutdown continues, incoming acting Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said in an interview with Fox News on Friday. “He cancelled his plans for Christmas, now he’s cancelled his plans for New Year’s,” Mulvaney said. “The president is very heavily engaged …

Maine Public Radio reports: Gov. Paul LePage has certified the results of the election in Maine’s Second Congressional District. The governor tweeted a photo of the certificate naming Jared Golden Maine’s next congressman. The photo shows that the governor wrote “Stolen election” next to his signature on the certificate. Congressman-elect Jared Golden will begin his term on January 3. I’ve …

Bloomberg reports: Wells Fargo will pay $575 million to settle claims made by U.S. states that the bank created phony accounts and committed other customer abuses, according to a statement by the Iowa attorney general’s office. Two years ago, Wells Fargo agreed to pay $190 million to settle federal government claims that the bank created phony customer account, and improperly …

The New York Times reports: The North Carolina state elections board dissolved on Friday under a court order, two weeks before its much-anticipated hearing to consider evidence of possible absentee ballot fraud in the disputed November election for the Ninth District’s seat in Congress. The unwinding of the State Board of Elections and Ethics Enforcement is a consequence of a …

Just posted to Barack Obama’s Facebook page: As 2018 draws to a close, I’m continuing a favorite tradition of mine and sharing my year-end lists. It gives me a moment to pause and reflect on the year through the books, movies, and music that I found most thought-provoking, inspiring, or just plain loved. It also gives me a chance to …

The Associated Press reports: Deep in the bedrock 15 stories below the famous Grand Central Terminal, a cavernous construction site is slowly, and expensively, taking shape as a commuter rail hub that will accommodate more than 150,000 passengers a day. East Side Access has been dogged by massive cost overruns and delays since construction began nearly a dozen years ago. …

The Huffington Post reports: In a court filing Thursday, a Russian company indicted early this year referred to a “nude selfie” obtained by special counsel Robert Mueller. No other details were provided, including the identity of the individual or individuals in the selfie. “Could the manner in which he [Mueller] collected a nude selfie really threaten the national security of …

Politico reports: Nancy Pelosi and her top lieutenants are considering several options that would refuse Trump the $5 billion he’s demanded for the wall and send hundreds of thousands of furloughed federal employees back to work, according to senior Democratic sources. While the strategy is fluid, House Democrats hope to pass a funding bill shortly after members are sworn in. …

ABC New York reports: A transformer exploded at a power plant in Queens Thursday night, lighting up the sky over New York City while causing some flight delays and scattered power outages. The power outages affected operations at LaGuardia Airport. There was a total ground stop at the airport for about a half hour before power was restored and flights …

The Daily Beast reports: The hits keep coming from Fox News to President Trump. The day after his surprise visit to U.S. troops in Iraq—his first to soldiers in a war zone since taking office nearly two years ago—the hosts of Outnumbered shared some sharp criticism of his impromptu “campaign rally” overseas. “I just don’t think it’s ever worked out …

CNBC reports: Sears, the 125-year-old icon, has 24 hours to survive. The employer of more than 68,000 filed for bankruptcy in October. Its last shot at survival is a $4.6 billion proposal put forward by its chairman, Eddie Lampert, to buy the company out of bankruptcy through his hedge fund, ESL Investments. ESL is the only party offering to buy …

Washington DC’s WTOP radio reports: D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser penned a letter to President Donald Trump Wednesday urging him to end the partial government shutdown. Bowser’s letter, on behalf of the 702,000 D.C. residents and businesses, said that the city will experience a severe impact if the shutdown continues. “Indeed, many DC residents, businesses including restaurants and hotels, and federal …

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 …