Bergdahl: Taliban asked me if Obama is gay  —  Bowe Bergdahl compared his first year in Taliban captivity — starved, stinking and chained to a bed — to being tossed in a closet and forgotten.  —  “Picture someone taking a bag, throwing it into the closet, shutting the door and just forgetting about it.

The Sanders campaign is taking its fight with the DNC to the next level  —  The dustup over a data breach that briefly erupted in the Democratic presidential primary last week isn't over as far as Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and his team are concerned.  —  In a conversation with Yahoo News …

Christmas's War on America  —  Every year, a new round of politicians attempt to breathe new life into America's thoroughly exhausted war on Christmas.  But this year, maybe it's time instead to examine Christmas's war on Americans.  —  For centuries, the holiday has served as a flashpoint between competing religious ideas.

Bill Clinton's first home damaged in suspected arson  —  Firefighters were called to the scene at about 3:20 a.m. Video provided by Newsy Newslook  —  Former president Bill Clinton's first boyhood home in Hope, Ark., was damaged by fire early Friday in what authorities suspect is arson.

O'Malley: Jesus was a refugee  —  Democratic presidential hopeful Martin O'Malley says plans to deport hundreds of illegal immigrants in a series of raids are not befitting of the Christmas season.  —  “A Christmas Refugee Roundup sounds like something [Donald Trump] would concoct,” O'Malley tweeted Thursday.

Political Dark Money Just Got Darker  —  As untold millions of dollars pour into the shadowy campaign troughs of the presidential candidates, voters need to be reminded of the rosy assumptions of the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision that legitimized the new spending frenzy.

Sudan: No Chance to Celebrate Christmas in Sudan, Crackdown Continues  —  Few Christians in Sudan will enjoy Christmas this year as government authorities continue to crackdown on churches and parishioners alike.  —  Just a week before Christmas, security forces arrested Reverend Kowa Shamaal …

UK cities at risk of BOXING DAY terror attack - and what to do if ISIS strikes  —  BRITISH revellers hoping for a Boxing Day bargain could be at risk of an Islamic State (ISIS) terror attack.  —  GETTY  •IG  —  Britain's streets under threat from an ISIS attack on Saturday

Edward Clarkin Is The Most Important Man In Journalism Today — And He's Probably Not A Real Person  —  A week ago, no one had ever heard of Edward Clarkin.  Today he has inspired multiple parody Twitter accounts, prompted one journalist to quit his job after 22 years and has been the subject …

Of a creepy council member, Cano  —  “Arma virumque cano,” writes Vergil in the opening of the Aeneid ("Arms and the man I sing").  In a footnote to the Black Lives Matter disgrace yesterday, Minneapolis now gives us a creep and a council member, Cano — Alondra Cano.

Gray Lady Sings the Blues  —  The social safety net for the elderly is under strain in developed countries, according to the NYT: … In this story, NYT is facing what everybody knows: The retirement systems of the 20th century won't work in the 21st.  U.S. retirees will see declining …