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Politico reports: President-elect Donald Trump called reports that the Russian government endeavored to help him win last month’s presidential election “ridiculous” and “just another excuse” in an interview that aired Sunday morning, once again questioning the intelligence community he will take charge of when he is inaugurated next month. Trump told “Fox News Sunday” that he suspected that Democrats are …

The Hill reports: President-elect Donald Trump has selected Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson as his nominee for secretary of State, NBC News reported Saturday. Tillerson had reportedly jumped to the front of the pack of candidates in recent days, despite not being mentioned on shortlists as recently as last week. Critics have already called into question Tillerson’s ties to Russian …

Via Mediaite: CNN’s Michael Smerconish spoke with Sean Spicer of the Republican National Committee today, and the conversation became a fiery shouting match over the CIA’s reported conclusion that Russian hackers meddled with the election. Spicer argued that WaPo’s report did not contain a formal assessment, and the Times was wrong because their piece ignored evidence provided by the RNC …

The Guardian reports: US intelligence agencies have concluded that Russia interfered in last month’s presidential election to boost Donald Trump’s bid for the White House, according to reports. A secret CIA assessment found that Russian operatives covertly interfered in the election campaign in an attempt to ensure the Republican candidate’s victory, the Washington Post reported, citing officials briefed on the …

CBS News reports: Former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani has removed himself from consideration for the position of secretary of state, according to a statement from President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team. The statement says that Giuliani told Mr. Trump on November 29th that he no longer wanted to run the State Department. Giuliani, a close and unequivocating Trump ally, …

The Military Times reports: A Marine veteran turned journalist has been recalled from Iraq after tweeting a picture showing him shooting at ISIS fighters. On Thursday, Jason Buttrill tweeted a picture of him with a sniper rifle along with the the message: “Major bucket list completed. Shoot at #ISIS ? Check!” A Marine veteran, Buttrill also tweeted that he fired …

The Hill reports: Donald Trump has picked Goldman Sachs president Gary Cohn to direct the National Economic Council in the White House, NBC News reported Friday morning. The council helps advise the president on economic policy. Cohn would be the second Goldman-linked appointment for the president-elect, who already named former Goldman Sachs partner Steven Mnuchin as Treasury secretary. Cohn met …

People Magazine reports: In a sobering post-election period, Glen Pannell has figured out a way to make us smile — one pants-less donation at a time. The graphic designer and actor bears more than a passing resemblance to Vice President-elect Mike Pence, and now he is using that genetic stroke of luck to help others as a part of a …

Politico reports: President Barack Obama has ordered a “full review” of hacking-relating activity aimed at disrupting last month’s presidential election and he expects that report before he leaves office on Jan. 20, a top White House official said Friday. “We may have crossed into a new threshold and it is incumbent upon us to take stock of that, to review, …

AL.com reports: Alabama Death row inmate Ronald Bert Smith, Jr. was executed Thursday night by lethal injection for the 1994 slaying of Huntsville convenience store clerk Casey Wilson. During the 34-minute execution at the Holman Correctional Facility in Atmore, Smith heaved and coughed for about 13 minutes and underwent two consciousness tests to make sure he couldn’t feel pain. Smith’s …

Politico reports: Donald Trump on Thursday brushed aside concerns that he had tapped too many super-rich people for his cabinet, saying “I want people that made a fortune!” and boasting that he was “putting together one of the great cabinets that has ever been assembled in the history of our nation.” In a campaign-style speech at a convention center here, …

DNA Info reports: He’s not taking no for an answer. Mayor Bill de Blasio vowed Wednesday to fight Congress’ refusal to reimburse the full $35 million the NYPD is spending to protect President-elect Donald Trump and his family through the Jan. 20 inauguration — saying the paltry $7 million offered is insufficient. “I’m disappointed. I think they should have done …

The New York Times reports: President-elect Donald J. Trump kicked around ideas for his inauguration in his office at Trump Tower on Tuesday with two of his oldest friends, Mark Burnett and Thomas Barrack Jr. The ideas spilled out from Mr. Burnett, a well-regarded showman best known for producing “The Apprentice”: a parade up Fifth Avenue, a helicopter ride to …

The Associated Press reports: John Glenn, an astronaut, senator and old-fashioned American hero, died Thursday at the age of 95, the Columbus Dispatch reported. Glenn was the last survivor of the Mercury 7, selected in 1959 as NASA’s first group of astronauts. He became the first American to orbit the Earth on Feb. 20, 1962. It was a solo flight, …

BOOM. CNN reports: Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine intensified his criticism over Donald Trump’s national security adviser, saying that retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn peddles in conspiracy theories that even a little child would dismiss. Kaine, who was Hillary Clinton’s running mate this year, has kept a low profile since suffering the stunning loss to Trump last month. But Kaine told …

Roger Ailes is out and now so is the spinoff he created. The Hill reports: Fox News Latino’s (FNL) six-year run will officially end at midnight Friday. FNL national correspondent Bryan Llenas tweeted the news on his personal account on Thursday. “When we launched in October of 2010, we were faced with a daunting task: Report on Latino stories in …

The New York Times reports: President-elect Donald J. Trump is expected to name Andrew F. Puzder, chief executive of the company that operates the fast food outlets Hardee’s and Carl’s Jr. and an outspoken critic of the worker protections enacted by the Obama administration, to be secretary of labor, people close to the transition said on Thursday. Mr. Puzder has …

Yesterday it was reported that Trump is considering Jim O’Neill, one of libertarian loon Peter Thiel’s cronies, to be the head of FDA. Like Thiel, O’Neill has some really bizarre ideas and sits on the board of Thiel’s Seasteading Institute, which hopes to build floating zillioniare utopias where businesses can operate unencumbered by pesky things like banking laws, environmental protections, …

The Detroit Free Press reports: After two days of ballot counting, conflicting court decisions and legal wranglings between frustrated lawyers, a federal judge on Wednesday night halted the hand recount of 4.8 million ballots cast for president in Michigan, concluding there’s no real evidence of foul play and there’s no valid reason to continue the recount. In his eight-page opinion, …

CNBC reports: Donald Trump used Twitter late Wednesday to slam the union chief who had sharply criticized the President-elect’s claims to have saved more than 1,000 jobs at the Carrier plant in Indianapolis, and set of a war of words over who best represents American workers. Chuck Jones, president of the United Steelworkers 1999 that represents workers at Carrier, apparently …