Facebook fake-news writer: ‘I think Donald Trump is in the White House because of me’  —  What do the Amish lobby, gay wedding vans and the ban of the national anthem have in common?  For starters, they're all make-believe — and invented by the same man.  —  Paul Horner, the 38-year-old impresario …

Trump's Team Makes Overtures to Democrats as Transition Push Ramps Up  —  President-elect meets with New York Mayor Bill de Blasio; support for public-works program signaled  —  President-elect Donald Trump is making overtures to Democrats as his transition efforts ramp up …

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper Resigns  —  Director of National Intelligence James Clapper submitted his resignation Wednesday evening.  —  Clapper has said in interviews with NBC News over the last year that he was counting down the days to stepping down at the end of President Obama's final term in office.

Yellen Says Interest Rate Hike Could Come ‘Relatively Soon’  —  Fed chief reiterates that rate increases will be ‘gradual’  —  She makes no mention of impact of potential Trump policies  —  Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen signaled the U.S. central bank is close to lifting interest rates …

You Are Still Crying Wolf  —  [Content warning: hate crimes, Trump, racism.  I have turned off comments to keep out bad people who might be attracted by this sort of thing.  Avoid sharing in places where this will attract the wrong kind of attention, as per your best judgment.

Donald Trump's Son-in-Law Could Get Key White House Role  —  Real-estate developer Jared Kushner, husband of Ivanka Trump, mulls prospect of being senior adviser or special counsel  —  President-elect Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner is poised to play a powerful position in Trump's presidency …

Trump Favorability Up, but Trails Other Presidents-Elect  —  PRINCETON, N.J. — Donald Trump's favorable rating has improved from 34% to 42% after his election as president.  While a majority in the U.S. still have an unfavorable view of him, his image is the best it has been since March 2011 when 43% viewed him positively.

Bankers celebrate dawn of Trump era  —  NEW YORK — Christmas has arrived early for Wall Street in the early days of the Donald Trump era.  —  A populist candidate who railed against shady financial interests on the campaign trail is now putting together an administration that looks like an investment banker's dream.

Sanders won't join Democratic Party  —  (I-Vt.) won't officially join the Democratic Party even though he was appointed to a leadership position within the Senate Democratic caucus this week.  —  “I was elected as an Independent and I will finish this term as an Independent,” …

FBI's decision to reopen Clinton email probe enabled Donald Trump to win election, says former aide Corey Lewandowski  —  The FBI's controversial decision to re-examine Hillary Clinton's emails enabled Donald Trump to win the election, his former campaign manager has claimed.

Hillary Clinton Makes First Public Appearance Since Conceding the Election  —  Hillary Clinton urges supporters to ‘stay engaged’ in first speech since election 2:35  —  Hillary Clinton, making an emotional plea, urged supporters “not to give up” and to “stay engaged” in politics at a charity gala in Washington D.C. Wednesday night.

Washington girds for role reversal on executive power  —  Washington's massive about-face on executive power is underway.  —  Donald Trump's election has triggered a whiplash-inducing role reversal in D.C. legal circles, as liberals who spent the past eight years defending President Barack Obama's use …

GOP learning wrong lessons from Trump win, Republicans fear  —  Republican operatives spent four years warning that the party needed to diversify — or risk a blowout at the ballot box.  Donald Trump spent the campaign trafficking in divisive racial rhetoric — and he won anyway.

Trump Surrogate: Japanese Internment Camps A ‘Precedent’ For Muslim Registry (VIDEO)  —  One of Donald Trump surrogate's claimed Wednesday that the forced internment of Japanese Americans during World War II provided a “precedent” for the next administration creating a registry of Muslims living in the United States.

The only reason I have taken so much time away from work to address this personally is because you are Mr. Shultz's grandson.  —  Tyler Shultz, now 26 years old, was among several Theranos employees who tried to voice concerns inside the company about what they saw as troubling practices …

As the Democrats Lick Their Wounds  —  Re “Where the Democrats Go From Here,” by Bernie Sanders (Op-Ed, Nov. 12): Senator Sanders may have “campaigned hard” for Hillary Clinton, as he put it, but he campaigned much harder against her in the primaries.  He was entitled to do that …

The electoral college badly distorts the vote.  And it's going to get worse.  —  Donald Trump won the United States presidency with 290 votes in the electoral college.  Hillary Clinton won the popular vote with 62,568,373 votes, as of Nov. 16, to President-elect Trump's 61,336,159.

Video: Miami Man Screams “Trump!” at Black Starbucks Employee, Claims “White Discrimination”  —  Around 4:30 p.m. today, Jorge de Cárdenas was getting some work done in a Starbucks on South Dixie Highway near the University of Miami.  A group of people stood waiting in line at the counter for their coffee and snacks.

Total abortion ban proposed in Indiana  —  An Indiana lawmaker plans to introduce a bill that would outlaw and criminalize all forms of abortion in Indiana.  —  State Rep. Curt Nisly said Wednesday he will file so-called “Protection at Conception” legislation when the General Assembly convenes in January.

Key Republican Puts Dagger In Push To End Filibusters  —  Orrin Hatch, the most senior GOP senator, says it's vital to protect minority party rights.  —  WASHINGTON — Republicans hankering to end the filibuster so they can enact President-elect Donald Trump's agenda without interference …