Official: Charles Manson alive amid report he’s hospitalized

By The Associated Press Mariah Carey says she was "mortified" in "real time" during her disastrous live performance just before the ball dropped on ABC's "Dick Clark's Rockin' New... By The Associated Press Mariah Carey says she was "mortified" in "real time" during her disastrous live performance just before the ball dropped on ABC's "Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's... Amid reports that Charles Manson has been taken from his California prison cell to a hospital, a state corrections official would confirm only that the 82-year-old killer and cult leader was still alive.

Community rallies around Polly the pig who is recovering after ‘barbaric’ attack

Diva singer's aides claim faulty earpiece caused Times Square lip-sync disaster - and accuse TV execs of disabling equipment on PURPOSE to create a scandal and boost their audience figures Will a BAG solve the mystery of what happened to six missing plane passengers who vanished over Lake Eerie? Police find luggage in hunt for family of four and their two friends North Korea will test-launch an intercontinental nuclear missile that could let it nuke the United States, claims Kim Jong Un STILL no sign of Her Majesty as she misses church service for second week running after falling ill with 'heavy cold' - but Princess Anne says her mother is 'on the mend' as Philip braves the rain 'One of the most eventful and exciting years of my life': Ivanka Trump celebrates New Year in Hawaii as the rest of the clan party with Stallone and Donald in Florida 'No computer is safe,' warns Trump as he ... (more)

Abbreviated Pundit Round-up: Please exit the shelter slowly

Donald Trump has won the presidency after narrowly carrying a few states to put him above 270 electoral votes.But according... Senate Republicans refused to give President Obama's pick to replace Supreme Court Justice Scalia even the courtesy of a... Please shield your eyes and watch your step as you emerge, blinking and confused, from the 2016 Survival Shelter. Welcome to 2017.

Investigation? Ain’t no prime minister got time for that

By now it's become a truism that 2016 was one stinker of a year for most, and from the looks of the first newspapers of the new year from the Israeli press, not much will change in 2017. While front pages are emblazoned with pictures of fireworks and wishes for a great 2017, the news offerings give a picture of a more melancholy and bizarro state of play - and that's without the deadly Istanbul attack making the morning papers.

Donald Trump ditches media, sends sarcastic New Year’s ‘love’ to haters

PARTY TIME: Herald columnist Howie Carr, right, and his wife Kathy, are seen last night at a New Year's Eve party with President-elect Donald Trump. A new media flap has emerged after President-elect Donald Trump ditched the traveling press pool - this time for a round of golf.

Top China issues to watch in 2017

A lot has happened in 2016. In January, Taiwan's independence-leaning Tsai Ing-wen won the island's presidential election by a landslide; in July, an international court handed down a landmark ruling against Beijing's claims in the South China Sea, and in November, Donald Trump beat Hillary Clinton to become the United States' next leader.

China’s Xi says won’t let anyone make ‘fuss’ about its territory

China will never allow anyone to "make a great fuss" about its territorial sovereignty and maritime rights, President Xi Jinping said in his New Year's address, while China's top official in charge of Taiwan ties warned of risk ahead in 2017. China's increasingly assertive moves to push its territorial claims in the disputed South China Sea, including building artificial islands, has unnerved its neighbors.

Peter Funt: Next yeara s news, today

Thanks to Donald Trump and the Chicago Cubs my outlandish predictions for 2016 were eclipsed by, of all things, reality. Worse, the fine art of fake news was commandeered by demons who used it for social and political gain - something my colleagues and I would never have dreamed possible.

Trump bids a blockbuster 2016 farewell

President-elect Donald Trump will say goodbye to 2016 alongside 800 paying guests at his Mar-a-Lago estate Saturday, surrounded by an explosion of white and green flowers in his massive ballroom. The annual Mar-a-Lago New Year's Eve, which wife Melania and son Barron will also attend, is a highlight on the private club's social calendar, members say.

Putin congratulates Trump, not Obama, in New Year’s statement

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated US President-elect Donald Trump, rather than President Barack Obama, in his annual New Year's greetings statement to foreign heads of state and government. However, Putin did convey his seasonal greetings to Obama, his family and the American people in a separate statement earlier Friday, while responding to the latest wave of US sanctions against Russia.