Top 10 stories: Women emboldened in year of #metoo

By DAVID CRARY AP National Writer NEW YORK - The wave of sexual misconduct allegations that toppled Hollywood power brokers, politicians, media icons and many others was the top news story of 2017, according to the Associated Press' annual poll of U.S. editors and news directors.

Russian President Vladimir Putin didn’t care about a victory by…

Debate rages in Washington over the true scale and impact of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, but intelligence sources say Moscow 's hacking, fake news and social media manipulation ignited a global trend that now threatens some of the world's most fragile democracies. "It's as if David slung a rock into Goliath's eye and Goliath actually stumbled," said one source, who added that "if America could be shaken by such a campaign, imagine what would happen if it were repeated in a place like Kenya."

Judicial Watch: DOJ, Mueller ‘Wanted to Hide the Truth’ on How Agent…

Judicial Watch, a government watchdog group based in Washington, D.C., has filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the FBI for records about the reassignment of FBI counterintelligence agent Peter Strzok, who was removed from Speical Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into alleged Trump-Russia collusion in the 2016 presidential campaign apparently because of anti-Trump and pro-Clinton texts he shared with his mistress, Lisa Page, an FBI lawyer who also briefly worked on the Mueller team. "It is disturbing the FBI has stonewalled our request about the Mr. Strzok demotion for four months," said Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.

Kremlin trolls burned across the Internet as Washington debated optionsabout 1 hour ago

WASHINGTON – The first email arrived in the inbox of CounterPunch, a left-leaning American news and opinion website, at 3:26 a.m. – the middle of the day in Moscow. The FBI was tracking Donovan as part of a months-long counterintelligence operation code-named "NorthernNight."

The GOP fights for its own voters to stop the next Roy Moore

Republicans who hope their Senate disaster in Alabama will scare voters away from other outsider, longshot conservatives should spend some time with Michele Evans. Three thousand miles from the scene of Republican Roy Moore's stunning defeat, the Nevada Republican doesn't see a connection between Moore and her preferred Senate candidate, Danny Tarkanian, who is trying to unseat incumbent Dean Heller after several failed election attempts.

2017 was a good year for Europe’s political extremists

Far-right parties in Austria, Germany, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, and France enjoyed substantial gains, bringing anti-Islam and anti-Semitism to forefront of national debates A man with his face covered as thousands gather for the annual nationalist march of PolandA s Independency Day in Warsaw, Poland on November 11, 2017. In fact, when it comes to European politics, this year may appear mild in comparison to 2016, which saw several dramatic and shocking developments, such as Brexit, a refugee resettlement crisis, and the terrorist attack in Nice on Bastille Day, France's national holiday.

More than 4 in 5 enrolled in ‘Obamacare’ are in Trump states

Americans in states that Donald Trump carried in his march to the White House account for more than 4 in 5 of those signed up for coverage under the health care law the president still wants to take down. An Associated Press analysis of new figures from the government found that 7.3 million of the 8.8 million consumers signed up so far for next year come from states Trump won in the 2016 presidential election.

Poll: Trump and GOP never intended to strike a bipartisan tax deal

As Republicans rush their tax bill to the House and Senate floors for a final round of votes, a new poll shows that Americans do not believe that the GOP, in crafting the controversial legislation, reached out in good faith to Democrats. Only 27% say Republicans and President Trump sought meaningful input from their partisan opponents on Capitol Hill, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS.

Strategy seeks to refocus US relationship with China, Russia

President Donald Trump's new national security strategy seeks to refocus the United States' relationship with China, Russia and the rest of the world, transforming his "America First" mantra into a set of policies and plans for protecting the homeland and advancing its economy. Combating China: The strategy deems China, like Russia, to be a "revisionist" power, determined to reshape the world according to its own ideals.

Trump has ambitious plans to campaign in 2018 midterms, including in Pa.

President Donald Trump is not on the ballot in 2018, but the White House is planning a full-throttle campaign to plunge the president into the midterm elections, according to senior officials and advisers familiar with the planning. Trump's political aides have met with 116 candidates for office in recent months, according to senior White House officials, seeking to become involved in Senate, House and gubernatorial races - and possibly contested Republican primaries as well.

Florida Gov. Scott mulls next political move

For more than a year, Florida Gov. Rick Scott has engaged in a guessing game about his political future: Will he challenge U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson in 2018? President Donald Trump has already publicly called on Scott to run, but Scott again this week insisted he had not made up his mind. And he sidestepped questions about whether the upset win of Democrat Doug Jones in the neighboring state of Alabama is a sign that a GOP candidate could have difficulty next year in a state that has backed candidates of both parties.

After Alabama loss, Trump has ambitious plans to campaign in 2018 midterms

President Donald Trump is not on the ballot in 2018, but the White House is planning a full-throttle campaign to plunge the president into the midterm elections, according to senior officials and advisers familiar with the planning. Trump's political aides have met with 116 candidates for office in recent months, according to senior White House officials, seeking to become involved in Senate, House and gubernatorial races - and possibly contested Republican primaries as well.

Presidents Should Never Name Sitting Office Holders to Appointed Positions

One lesson of the Alabama Senate race that does not seem to ever sink to either party is that there is no good reason for a president to name sitting office holders in critical positions to the Cabinet. I'm sure when Trump named Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III as Attorney General, Republicans thought there was absolutely no way they could possibly lose that seat.

Harper: When Moore is Less

The defeat of Roy Moore in Tuesday's special election in Alabama, to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Jeff Sessions, was a welcome development. But Democrats should not rush to congratulate themselves and draw too many unwarranted conclusions about the implications for the upcoming midterm elections.

Mark Shields: Francisco Franco and the 2018 Republicans

To understand the discouraging plight for Republicans heading into the 2018 midterm elections, it might help to recall a joke popular in Spain in 1975, when Generalissimo Francisco Franco, that nation's long-ruling and ruthless dictator, lingered for endless weeks on his deathbed. As of today, there are no brave souls in President Donald Trump's inner, or even outer, circle volunteering to mention to him that the most recent four times that majority control of the House of Representatives switched from one party to the other - 1954, 1994, 2006 and 2010 - were after midterm elections.

Larry Pressler: Mitt Romney for president

Mitt Romney said last week that Roy Moore is "unfit" as the GOP Senate nominee for Alabama's special election on Dec. 12. Probably the biggest news out of Washington this week has been President Donald Trump's visit to Utah. People are speculating about what the spillover of his proclamation might be to public lands in the other 49 states.