Sources: Trump will ask Congress, not Mexico, to pay for border wall  — The Trump transition team says he his preference is to fund the border wall through the appropriations process  — The move would break a key campaign promise when Trump promised to force Mexico to pay for the wall

U.S. intercepts capture senior Russian officials celebrating Trump win  —  Senior officials in the Russian government celebrated Donald Trump's victory over Hillary Clinton as a geopolitical win for Moscow, according to U.S. officials who said that American intelligence agencies intercepted communications …

Former CIA director James Woolsey quits Trump transition team  —  Former CIA director R. James Woolsey Jr., a veteran of four presidential administrations and one of the nation's leading intelligence experts, resigned Thursday from President-elect Donald Trump's transition team …

In Break With Precedent, Obama Envoys Are Denied Extensions Past Inauguration Day  —  WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald J. Trump's transition staff has issued a blanket edict requiring politically appointed ambassadors to leave their overseas posts by Inauguration Day …

President Obama Talks Race Relations, Calls Alleged Hate Crime in Facebook Video ‘Terrible’  —  President Obama said “we appear to have seen” a hate crime in the alleged attack on a Chicago man captured on Facebook.  —  “It's terrible,” the president said about the incident, during an interview with ABC affiliate WLS in Chicago.

Trump makes calls against Kasich's pick for Ohio GOP chair  —  COLUMBUS - On Friday, President-elect Donald Trump and Gov. John Kasich will face off in their latest battle for the hearts and minds of Ohio Republicans — and Trump himself on Thursday entered the fray.

FBI: DNC rebuffed request to examine computer servers  —  Clapper: Russia hacks a multi-faceted campaign  —  Washington (CNN)The Democratic National Committee “rebuffed” a request from the FBI to examine its computer services after it was allegedly hacked by Russia during the 2016 election …

Tucker Carlson and Donald Trump Tangled Over Hair, ‘P*ssy’  —  Just days after the departure of host Megyn Kelly from Fox News, the network replaced one of its few Trump skeptics with Tucker Carlson, an unabashed booster of the president-elect.  —  But Carlson—who recently compared …

Dan Coats Expected to Be Named Intelligence Director  —  Retired Senator Dan Coats of Indiana is expected to be named director of national intelligence.  —  Trump Toyota tweet has Republicans and allies divided over import tariffs.  —  Anti-Trump lawyers have one more Hail Mary to stop a President Donald J. Trump.

Trump's Debts Are Widely Held on Wall Street, Creating New Potential Conflicts  —  More than 150 financial institutions hold debts connected to president-elect, analysis shows  —  The debts of President-elect Donald Trump and his businesses are scattered across Wall Street banks …

Trump's Twitter feed traumatizes Washington  —  Donald Trump's unique, chaos theory of presidential communications is upending Washington, leaving lawmakers, government officials and lobbyists aghast that they are beholden to a single leader's whims, not to mention the uncertainty about his true thoughts and intentions.

Texas Moves to Limit Transgender Bathroom Access  —  AUSTIN, Tex. — One of the most powerful Republican officials in Texas put the state on the front lines of the nation's culture wars on Thursday, announcing the filing of a bill that would require people in government buildings and in public schools …

House Republicans revive obscure rule that could allow them to slash the pay of individual federal workers to $1  —  House Republicans this week reinstated an arcane procedural rule that enables lawmakers to reach deep into the budget and slash the pay of an individual federal worker …

Head of nurses union ‘counting on’ Trump for single-payer system  —  OAKLAND — As Washington grapples with health care policy again, the head of the 185,000-member National Nurses United is turning her attention to a seemingly unlikely advocate for a single-payer system.

Roberts Belatedly Sees Conflict, Withdraws in Top Court Case  —  Letter says office missed link between case, Thermo Fisher  —  Late recusal adds to pattern among stockholding justices  —  Chief Justice John Roberts withdrew from a U.S. Supreme Court patent case argued last month …