Putin says he won't deport U.S. diplomats as he looks to cultivate relations with Trump  —  MOSCOW — In a rare break from the diplomatic tradition of reciprocal punishment, Russian President Vladi­mir Putin said Friday he would not deport U.S. diplomats in a tit-for-tat response …

Dear Family and Friends,  —  This is the message I have sent to Choir:  —  Dear President Jarrett and Choir,  —  Today is my birthday.  (Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you...........)  —  It is with a sad and heavy heart that I submit my resignation to you and to Choir.

Obama's ugly bid to snub voters and tie Trump's hands  —  In his waning days in the White House, President Obama is desperately trying to make his policies as permanent as possible by tying the hands of his successor — and far more than other presidents have done on their way out.

Britain, edging towards Trump, scolds Kerry over Israel  —  Britain scolded U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry for describing the Israeli government as the most right-wing in Israeli history, a move that aligns Prime Minister Theresa May more closely with President-elect Donald Trump.

Obama to huddle with Hill Democrats on saving Obamacare  —  President Barack Obama will head to Capitol Hill Wednesday to meet with congressional Democrats about how to shield Obamacare from Republican efforts to dismantle it, a Capitol Hill source told POLITICO.

Self-Driving Cars Will Make Organ Shortages Even Worse  —  We need to prepare for that now.  —  Much has been said about the ways we expect our oncoming fleet of driverless cars to change the way we live—remaking us all into passengers, rewiring our economy, retooling our views of ownership, and reshaping our cities and roads.

California Democrats legalize child prostitution  —  Beginning on Jan. 1, prostitution by minors will be legal in California.  Yes, you read that right.  —  SB 1322 bars law enforcement from arresting sex workers who are under the age of 18 for soliciting or engaging in prostitution, or loitering with the intent to do so.

Nixon's lawyer accuses Trump of lying  —  Richard Nixon's former lawyer is accusing President-elect Donald Trump  —  of constantly lying to the American people.  —  John Dean, who served as White House Counsel to the former president and was directly involved in the Watergate scandal …

Skeptical Climate Scientists Coming In From the Cold  —  In the world of climate science, the skeptics are coming in from the cold.  —  Researchers who see global warming as something less than a planet-ending calamity believe the incoming Trump administration may allow their views to be developed and heard.

The Death of Clintonism  —  In September 1963, two months before his death, John F. Kennedy mused aloud to his old friend the journalist Charles Bartlett about the prospects for the 1968 presidential election, in which, he presciently worried, his brother Robert might run against Lyndon Johnson.

Former GOP rep: ‘I think Obama is Muslim’  —  Former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Ill.), a conservative radio host, said Thursday that President Obama “hates Israel” because “he has always been” a Muslim at heart.  —  For the past week, everybody has been asking again why Obama hates Israel.

States that legalized marijuana saw a drop in traffic deaths  —  Ayrn Taylor, a United Food and Commercial Workers union (UFCW) member and employee at the Venice Beach Care Center, displays medical marijuana during a media visit at the medical marijuana dispensary in Los Angeles, California February 6, 2013.