N.J. aunt of Ft. Lauderdale airport shooting suspect: ‘He lost his mind’ in Iraq  —  Esteban Santiago with his newborn son.  (Family photo)  —  UNION CITY — The suspect in the Fort Lauderdale shooting was a U.S. military veteran who “lost his mind” after a tour of duty in Iraq, his aunt said Friday.

Trump Says Focus on Russian Hacking Is a ‘Political Witch Hunt’  —  WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald J. Trump said in an interview Friday morning that the storm surrounding Russian hacking during the presidential campaign is a political witch hunt being carried out by his adversaries …

Dems try to voice objections as Congress certifies Trump's win … Several House Democrats tried to raise objections as a joint session of Congress met to formally count the Electoral College results certifying Donald Trump  —  's presidential election.  —  Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) …

Growing GOP Doubts Jeopardize Swift Obamacare Repeal in Senate  —  Four Republican senators express strong doubts about strategy  —  McConnell says GOP can act later in year to address gaps  —  A fourth Republican senator has voiced strong doubts about the party's current strategy …

'Don't You Say That Again': Conway and Cuomo Get Into Transfixing War of Words Over Russia Hacks  —  In a meaty interview that raged on for the better part of twenty minutes this morning, CNN New Day anchor Chris Cuomo sparred with Kellyanne Conway of the Trump campaign on a wide variety of controversies …

Hill Republicans embrace building of border wall, despite cost  —  Republicans on Capitol Hill say they don't need to wait for Mexico to make good on President-elect Donald Trump's central campaign promise: building a southern border wall.  —  In fact, they are happy to underwrite the wall themselves …

GOP congressman takes down colleague's sponsored ‘art’ depicting police as pigs  —  A Republican congressman took matters into his own hands Friday and personally removed a painting depicting police officers as pigs that a colleague had allowed to be displayed at the U.S. Capitol complex.

I have some exciting news to share.  This month I will be joining Facebook to lead its News Partnerships team.  This is a different role for me, but one where I will be tapping my newsroom experience to help news organizations and journalists work more closely and more effectively with Facebook.

Inside the Rise of the “Breitbart of the Left”  —  David Brock, the conservative apostate turned liberal agitator, lays out his plans for the future of the Internet for progressives.  “We're going to go after spineless Democrats who want to make nice with Trump.”

Rosie O'Donnell to Paul Ryan: ‘F— u’  —  Rosie O'Donnell appears to have another foe in Washington, with the former “View” co-host slamming House Speaker Paul Ryan  —  (R-Wisc.).  —  The comedian wrote to her more than 900,000 followers on Twitter on Friday: “f— you paul ryan - shame.”

Trump's EPA Pick Steps Down From Group That Battled the Agency  —  Scott Pruitt resigned as chairman of Rule of Law Defense Fund  —  Senate Democrats are seeking more information on the group  —  President-elect Donald Trump's pick to run the Environmental Protection Agency has resigned …

Sex Attacks Up 62 Percent in Greenpoint as Most Cases Remain Unsolved  —  GREENPOINT — There has been a 62 percent jump in sex attacks reported in Greenpoint over the last year with the majority not resulting in arrests, police statistics show.  —  In 2016, the NYPD was told about 13 rapes …

In campus rape cases, colleges to learn sexual advances go both ways  —  Aaron Farrer was expelled from Indiana University in Nov. 2015 for allegedly sexually assaulting a female student.  Farrer is now suing the university for violating his rights and suing his accuser for defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress.

Third lien on Trump hotel brings alleged unpaid bills to over $5 million  —  Workers from AES Electrical apparently went all out to make sure Donald Trump could open his luxury hotel on the day he wanted.  —  In the frenzied final six weeks of work at the hotel, while Trump touted the project …

Scandals Aplenty  —  The media just pretended they didn't exist.  —  Less than a fortnight after his successor was elected, Barack Obama got to work on shaping his legacy.  “I'm extremely proud of the fact that over eight years we have not had the kinds of scandals that have plagued other administrations,” he said.