US expels 35 Russian diplomats in response to election hacking

In a sweeping response to election hacking and other bad behavior, President Barack Obama on Thursday sanctioned Russian intelligence services and their top officials, kicked out 35 Russian officials and shuttered two Russian-owned compounds in the US. It was the strongest action the Obama administration has taken to date to retaliate for a cyberattack.

Trump Adviser: Americans Replaced Obama With ‘A Real Man, A True Man Who Loves This Country’

A senior member of President-elect Donald Trump's transition team suggested on Thursday that America would "be a leader in the world once again" after President Barack Obama leaves office because the country had chosen a "real man" over Hillary Clinton. During an interview on MSNBC's Chris Jansing, Trump adviser Boris Epshteyn downplayed reports that members of the Rockettes had objected to performing at the president-elect's inauguration.

White House bars Russian diplomats from riverfront compound

Russian Federation diplomats will no longer have access to the swanky riverfront compound on Maryland's Eastern Shore where they played tennis, went sailing and enjoyed respite from the nation's capital. As part of the move to punish Russia for its role in hacking the Democratic National Committee and influencing a United States election, President Barack Obama on Thursday announced sanctions that include shuttering the compound.

Obama beats Trump as 2016’s Most Admired Man; Clinton is Most Admired Woman

In this photo taken Nov. 10, 2016, President Barack Obama meets with President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. White House officials say President Barack Obama is prepared to spend his final major foreign trip talking about Donald Trump.

With Trump’s victory, GOP hopes to overhaul Medicaid

Patricia Krenwinkel, once a devout follower of cult killer Charles Manson and now the longest-serving female inmate in California, appeared again Thursday before a parole board - 47 years after she helped kill... Patricia Krenwinkel, once a devout follower of cult killer Charles Manson and now the longest-serving female inmate in California, appeared again Thursday before a parole board - 47 years after she helped kill pregnant... Once-bustling Renwick, Iowa, lost its grocery, hardware store, school and Ford dealership years ago, but when its sole bar closed last June, it seemed to some residents there wasn't much of a town left.

APNewsBreak: US considers mining limits to save sage grouse

The Obama administration will release five possible plans Thursday for limiting mining on federal land in the West to protect the vulnerable greater sage grouse, but it isn't saying which it prefers. The options range from banning new mining activity on about 15,000 square miles for up to 20 years to imposing no additional restrictions on mine locations.

‘We see the hope of peace slipping away’; Relations between …

It took eight years of backbiting and pretending they got along for relations between President Barack Obama's administration and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government to finally hit rock bottom. Though they've clashed bitterly before, mostly notably over Iran, the two governments seemed farther apart than ever after a speech Wednesday by Secretary of State John Kerry and last week's United Nations resolution.

In parting shot at Israel, Kerry warns Middle East peace in jeopardy

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday said Israel's building of settlements on occupied land was jeopardizing Middle East peace, voicing unusually frank frustration with America's longtime ally weeks before he is due to leave office. In a swiftly issued statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Kerry of bias.

Deadly floods voted top news story of 2016 in West Virginia

This Thursday June 23, 2016, file image provided by the Greenbrier shows flooding on the 17th green of the Old White Course at the Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., an area scheduled to host a PGA tour event two weeks later. The floods were voted the top story for 2016 in a poll of editors and broadcasters, who chose them in a year that also included tragic stories of substance abuse and an election in which voters emphatically supported Republican Donald Trump for president and Democrat Jim Justice for governor.

Thursday’s Morning Email: Putin Announces Cease-fire In Syria

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU THROWS HIS SUPPORT BEHIND DONALD TRUMP The Prime Minister of Israel called Secretary of State John Kerry's speech renouncing Israeli settlements " almost as unbalanced as the anti-Israel resolution passed at the U.N. last week." The top candidates for DNC have dodged the debate on where they stand on President Barack Obama's vetoing of the U.N. Israel resolution .

Trump holds Q&A, discussing jobs, Russia, Israel

President-elect Donald Trump applauded the return of 8,000 jobs to the U.S. and hailed his transition discussions with President Barack Obama in a series of comments that amounted to the most detailed interaction he's had with journalists since before the election. In one of his cameos Wednesday on the front steps of his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump touted plans by a Japanese mogul to bring jobs to the United States.

Why I Call BS On US Claims “Gang-Up On Israel” Meeting Never Took Place

The White House vehemently denied a report Wednesday morning claiming Secretary of State John Kerry and National Security Adviser Susan Rice discussed the controversial U.N. resolution condemning Israeli settlements with a top Palestinian official days before Friday's Security Council vote. An Egyptian news site first published what it claimed to be details of the meeting with Palestinian official Saeb Erekat and others.

Donald Trump credits impending administration for return of 8,000 jobs from Sprint

After weeks of giving only brief comments to the media, Donald Trump made a series of public statements Wednesday, applauding the return of 8,000 jobs to the U.S. and hailing his discussions with President Barack Obama. In one of his cameos on the front steps of his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, Trump touted plans by a Japanese mogul to bring those jobs to the United States.

Trump accuses Obama of ‘inflammatory’ roadblocks

President-elect Donald Trump accused President Barack Obama on Wednesday of throwing up "inflammatory" roadblocks during the transition of power and his administration of treating Israel with "total disdain," further straining the veneer of civility between the incoming and outgoing leaders. Although Trump didn't detail his complaints in his morning broadsides on Twitter, the president-elect has made it clear it didn't sit well with him when Obama recently boasted he would have won the election if he'd been running.