Cell signal puts Cohen outside Prague around time of purported Russian meeting  —  A mobile phone traced to President Donald Trump's former lawyer and “fixer” Michael Cohen briefly sent signals ricocheting off cell towers in the Prague area in late summer 2016, at the height of the presidential campaign …

Trump Iraq Visit Is Called a Political Rally  —  WASHINGTON — During his surprise visit to American troops in Iraq and Germany this week, President Trump singled out red “Make America Great Again” caps in a sea of military fatigues, signed a “Trump 2020” patch and accused Representative Nancy Pelosi …

Dems' New Year's resolution: Stiff Trump on the wall and reopen the government  —  House Democrats — increasingly convinced they're winning the shutdown fight with President Donald Trump — are plotting ways to reopen the government while denying the president even a penny more for his border wall when they take power Jan. 3.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller Seized Russian Trolls' ‘Nude Selfies’  —  The special counsel turned over reams of material from the email and social media accounts of accused Russian trolls.  —  Special Counsel Robert Mueller has collected at least three million pages of material from the email …

Blue Light Floods NYC Sky as Transformer Explodes in Queens  —  A transformer explosion in Queens sent an eerie blue light flooding into the nighttime sky over New York City Thursday night, startling residents.  —  Con Edison says a couple of transformers tripped offline at the substation …

The Inevitability of Impeachment  —  Even Republicans may be deciding that the president has become too great a burden to their party or too great a danger to the country.  —  Ms. Drew is a journalist based in Washington who covered Watergate.  —  An impeachment process against President Trump now seems inescapable.

Nation's oldest living veteran Richard Overton dies in Austin at age 112  —  AUSTIN, Texas (FOX 7 Austin) - The nation's oldest living veteran, Richard Overton, has died in a rehab facility in Austin, Texas.  —  He was 112 years old.  —  Family says Overton was admitted to the hospital last week with pneumonia.

If You Only Get Your News From CNN, You Have No Idea This Story Happened  —  A left-wing billionaire gave $100,000 towards an online misinformation campaign that mimicked Russian interference operations — but if you only get your news from CNN, then you have no idea that happened.

Inside Facebook's Secret Rulebook for Global Political Speech  —  Under fire for stirring up distrust and violence, the social network has vowed to police its users.  But leaked documents raise serious questions about its approach.  —  MENLO PARK, Calif. — In a glass conference room …

Fox News Hits Trump for Turning Troop Visit Into ‘Campaign Rally’  —  ‘Military men and women, I believe, deserve way more respect than that,’ Fox News' Julie Banderas said Thursday.  —  Matt Wilstein  —  The hits keep coming from Fox News to President Trump.

More Americans blame Trump for government shutdown: Reuters/Ipsos poll  —  NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More Americans blame President Donald Trump than congressional Democrats for the partial U.S. government shutdown, a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Thursday found, as lawmakers returned …

Trump bragged to service members in Iraq about a 10 percent raise they haven't been given  —  Speaking to members of the military during his surprise trip overseas this week, President Trump spoke about the raises they received.  —  “You haven't gotten one in more than 10 years — more than 10 years,” he said Wednesday.

Has the GOP retreated into a world of make-believe?  The shutdown debate will tell us.  —  I know it's a tiresome discussion.  I know that most people would rather not be having it.  I also know that the government shutdown is an appalling hardship for hundreds of thousands of government workers …

How Mark Burnett Resurrected Donald Trump as an Icon of American Success  —  With “The Apprentice,” the TV producer mythologized Trump—then a floundering D-lister—as the ultimate titan, paving his way to the Presidency.  —  “Expedition: Robinson,” a Swedish reality-television program …

EXCLUSIVE: Read Desperate Emails From People Scammed by A.G. Matt Whitaker's Business Associates  —  When current acting U.S. Attorney General Matt Whitaker joined the advisory board of a Florida patent firm in 2014, he was quoted in a company press release saying he “would only align myself with a first class organization.”

Saudi King Shakes Up Cabinet, Keeping Power in Son's Hands  —  BEIRUT, Lebanon — King Salman of Saudi Arabia shook up the kingdom's cabinet on Thursday, naming new ministers and security chiefs but keeping the levers of power firmly in the hands of his son and designated heir, Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Father whose son died in custody knew bringing him would ease entry into U.S.  —  Word spread through the impoverished village in the western highlands of Guatemala: Migrants traveling with a child are likely to make it past the Border Patrol and into the United States.

The impact homelessness and the opioid crisis are having on San Francisco streets  —  See the opioid crisis plaguing San Francisco  —  San Francisco (CNN)Outside the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in downtown San Francisco, a woman urinates on the sidewalk and smokes a crack pipe.

For Bernie Sanders, Holding Onto Support May Be Hard in a 2020 Bid  —  WASHINGTON — Some of his top congressional supporters won't commit to backing him if he runs for president again — and two may join the 2020 race themselves.  A handful of former aides might work for other candidates.

Trump DOJ Lawyers Won't Work Amid Shutdown.  Judges Say They Must  — U.S. argues its lawyers barred from working without pay  — Some judges pushing back and ordering government to proceed  —  Some U.S. judges are pushing back against Justice Department efforts to halt lawsuits involving …

Mike Bloomberg prepared to spend at least $100 million on a 2020 campaign for president if he decides to run  — Former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg is preparing to spend over his $100 million mayoral campaign budget if he chooses to run for president in 2020.

Disinformation campaign targeting Roy Moore's Senate bid may have violated law, Alabama attorney general says  —  Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall said Thursday that his office is exploring whether disinformation tactics deployed against Republican Roy Moore during …

You Can't Understand The Brutal Reality Of Gun Violence Until You Hear It From Doctors  —  The NRA tried to push doctors out of the gun debate.  They responded with raw accounts from the front lines of the crisis.  —  Christmas Eve, for Dr. Mary Brandt, will forever be associated with saving …

Trump administration to release hundreds of immigrant families from detention  —  But with border nonprofits already stretched to capacity, many families will probably end up dropped off en masse at bus stations.  —  Hundreds, or even thousands, of migrant families are set to be released …

Apocalypse Not  —  As everyone knows, climate orthodoxy holds that climate change from carbon emissions is going to make extreme weather more extreme.  So I won't hold my breath waiting to hear the climatistas commenting on this story from the Bezos Bulletin Washington Post today:

Silicon Valley will be a target from left, right and center in 2019  —  The best and worst tech moments of 2018  —  Joshua A. Geltzer, formerly senior director for counterterrorism and deputy legal adviser at the National Security Council, is executive director and visiting professor of law …