Man who left manure at Treasury Secretary Mnuchin's house comes forward, speaks out  —  A man who appears to be the person who left a gift-wrapped box of horse manure outside the home of U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin on Saturday spoke with AL.com via phone late Sunday evening, calling the incident an “act of political theater.”

Russian officials bar Navalny from running for president  —  MOSCOW (AP) — Russian election officials on Monday formally barred Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny from running for president, prompting calls from him for a boycott of next year's vote.  —  The Central Election Commission …

An Appreciation of John McCain, Who Spent Six Christmases as a Prisoner of War  — Over his years with the Cardinals, Larry Fitzgerald has become a friend and admirer of Arizona Sen. John McCain.  This Christmas he pays tribute to a man who as a POW in Vietnam was a model of selfless heroism …

Parents Killed After Warning Daughter About Boyfriend's Racist Views, Family Says  —  A husband and wife were shot dead in their Virginia home three days before Christmas by a 17-year-old boy they had warned their daughter not to date because of his racist views, according to officials and news accounts.

Sally Yates: Watch out for ghosts at Mar-a-Lago  —  Former Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates  —  is defending the FBI in response to President Trump  —  's attacks on the law enforcement agency — and specifically Deputy Director Andrew McCabe.  —  Yates in a tweet on Sunday …

Text of Pope Francis' traditional Christmas day message  —  VATICAN CITY (AP) — Dear Brothers and Sisters, Happy Christmas!  —  In Bethlehem, Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary.  He was born, not by the will of man, but by the gift of the love of God our Father, who “so loved the world …

Why Saad Hariri Had That Strange Sojourn in Saudi Arabia  —  BEIRUT, Lebanon — Lebanon's prime minister, Saad Hariri, was summoned at 8:30 a.m. to the Saudi royal offices — unseemly early, by the Kingdom's standards — on the second day of a visit that was already far from what he had expected.

Ambassador Haley on the United States Negotiating a Significant Reduction in the UN Budget  —  Today, the United Nations agreed on a budget for the 2018-2019 fiscal year.  Among a host of other successes, the United States negotiated a reduction of over $285 million off the 2016-2017 final budget.

Departing GOP lawmakers warn that their party could lose majorities in 2018  —  Republicans could easily lose their congressional majorities in 2018, two retiring GOP lawmakers warned Sunday, pointing to a lack of diversity in the party and President Trump's pattern of catering …

Democrats Leave Few Seats Unchallenged in Quest for House Control  —  WASHINGTON — Representative Pete Sessions, a veteran Republican, was re-elected to his affluent Dallas-area House seat in 2016 with 71 percent of the vote, the remaining 29 percent split between the Libertarian and Green Party candidates.

Former Gov. Kathleen Blanco: Seeking prayers in new ‘fight for my own life’ against cancer … Blanco, 75, a devout Catholic, says she is at peace with her fate, whatever it might be.  —  “I've had an extraordinarily full life,” she told The Advocate during a four-hour visit to her Lafayette home that included dinner.