OTHER UTAH HEADLINES   

Deseret News

Eva Witesman: GM news reminds us that government isn't a business

Derek Miller: Fare thee well, Sen. Hatch

Editorial: Congress, here's your end-of-year checklist

State audit: Workforce Services could be more careful in awarding, renewing public assistance benefits

Sen. Mike Lee blocks effort to vote on bill to protect special counsel Robert Mueller

Utah Supreme Court: Residents' vote to block development at old Cottonwood Mall stands

Happy New Year: Utah's economic outlook positive heading into 2019, analysts say

Utah Sen. Mike Lee makes impassioned plea to pull U.S. forces from Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen

Salt Lake Tribune

Gehrke: A mail carrier's simple act shows we don't all have to be Brent Taylor to serve

Utah's youngest legislator: 'I won't call anybody old if they don't call me young.'

With passage of Prop 2, Utah Patients Coalition reorganizes, shifts attention to lobbying the Legislature

Number of undocumented immigrants in Utah hits a 10-year low

Sen. Mike Lee blocks proposed legislation to protect Mueller investigation of Russian meddling in U.S. election

Ben McAdams votes against Nancy Pelosi for House speaker, but she wins Democratic nomination anyway

  NATIONAL HEADLINES  

• A new poll finds 67-percent of Mormons voted for Republicans in the 2018 midterms, but only 56-percent approve of President Trump's job performance - http://bit.ly/2FNCioW
  
  
• In a rambling interview with the New York Post, President Donald Trump said a pardon for former campaign chair Paul Manafort is "not off the table" - https://nyp.st/2FMlVJd 
  
  
• Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani says the president discussed pardoning former campaign chairman Paul Manafort in early June. Giuliani's proclamation contradicts a White House statement claiming no such discussions took place - http://bit.ly/2FMm7bp
  
  
• President Trump told special counsel Robert Mueller in writing that Roger Stone did not share information he had about WikiLeaks. He also said he was not told about the infamous 2016 Trump Tower meeting involving his son, campaign officials and a Russian lawyer promising damaging information about Hillary Clinton - https://cnn.it/2FLw9cT
  
  
• The special counsel's team is scrutinizing late-night calls between then-candidate Donald Trump and longtime associate Roger Stone - https://wapo.st/2FOBVug 
  
  
• Manafort's plea deal with Mueller's team fell apart because he allegedly lied to investigators about his business dealings with Russia - https://thebea.st/2FWTWqu 
  
  
• Right-wing conspiracy monger Jerome Corsi said in a blockbuster interview that he lied to Congress and is "ready to die in jail." He also said he tried to get stolen Clinton emails to the Trump campaign in 2016 and he "absolutely" intended to help the Trump campaign by doing so - https://on.msnbc.com/2FKVUdq
  
  
• Did special counsel Robert Mueller set Paul Manafort up? There's compelling evidence that Mueller's team baited Manafort into sharing false information with Trump's team - http://bit.ly/2FPEyfj 
  
  
• Senators advance a measure to limit presidential powers in Yemen. The move came after Senators were denied a CIA briefing on the killing of a Saudi journalist - https://nyti.ms/2G0lfAf 
  
  
• Democrats in the House nominated Nancy Pelosi to be Speaker of the House. She will still need to pick up about 15 votes to get the gavel back, but her allies are increasingly confident she will get there - https://politi.co/2FKUDmE
  
  
• Stunning! President Trump's Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta helped a hedge fund manager get a sweetheart plea deal after he was prosecuted for allegedly forcing dozens of underage girls to become prostitutes for him and other influential friends - https://hrld.us/2FLyg0j
  
  
• The Dow jumped 600 points on Wednesday after Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell hinted the Fed may slow interest rate hikes - https://cnn.it/2FOANH2 
  
  
• A leaked document from the Kremlin confirms President Trump will meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin during the G20 summit in Argentina this weekend - https://reut.rs/2FNHdWY
  
  
• Police raided the offices of Deutsche Bank on Thursday morning as part of a massive money laundering investigation - https://nyti.ms/2FKSvva 
  
  
• Rising sea levels from climate change could cost the U.S. trillions. In fact, rising sea levels are already causing problems in coastal cities like New Orleans - http://bit.ly/2FOQ4aW
  
  
• The Trump administration is preparing to finally move on a formal ban of bump stocks on semi-automatic weapons - https://nyti.ms/2FPERGZ 
  
  
• The FBI waived fingerprint checks for caregivers at a migrant detention camp for teens in Texas, potentially putting the safety of those housed there at risk - http://bit.ly/2FMlFKf
  
  
• The NRA reported donations to the group dropped by $55 million last year - https://thebea.st/2FLl23y
  
  
• Life expectancy in the U.S. dropped again. The average baby born in 2017 can expect to live 78.6 years. The latest drop is largely attributed to a rising number of deaths from drug overdoses - http://bit.ly/2FNtnnx

  ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY  

• 1777 - San Jose, Calfornia is founded as Pueblo de San Jose de Guadalupe by Jose Joaquin Moraga.
  
  
• 1877 - Thomas Edison demonstrates his phonograph for the first time.
  
  
• 1929 - Admiral Richard E. Byrd leads the first expedition to fly over the South Pole.
  
  
• 1963 - President Lyndon B. Johnson establishes the Warren Commission to investigate the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
  
  
• 1967 - Vietnam War: Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara announces his resignation.
  
  
• 1972 - Atari releases Pong, the first commercially successful video game.
  
  
• 1990 - The U.N. Security Council passed a resolution authorizing "all necessary means," including military force, against Iraq if it didn't withdraw from Kuwait by Jan. 15, 1991.
  
  
• 2017 - NBC fired Matt Lauer as host of the Today show after the network received a complaint accusing him of "inappropriate sexual behavior." 

Policy News

More National Headlines

Trump threatens to declassify Russia docs to counterpunch Dems (The Hill)

Former AG Gonzales: 'I Have a Problem' With Mueller Team If 'Perjury Traps' Are Being Set (FOX News)

John Kerry on running for president in 2020: 'I'm going to think about it' (CNN)

Bernie Sanders not stepping into Senate Energy void as liberals fear Manchin (Politico)

Trump may finally be undermining Obamacare (Politico)

Trump insists he has a good relationship with critic Cuomo (New York Post)

Stormy Daniels: Michael Avenatti Sued Trump For Defamation Against My Wishes (Daily Beast)

Pence casts tie-breaking vote to advance controversial Trump judicial pick (The Hill)

Democrats overwhelmingly nominate Pelosi as Speaker amid rebellion (The Hill)

Google CEO to appear before Congress where he will likely face questions from Republicans on political bias (CNN)

G.M., Not Trump, Is the Real Villain to Some Ohio Factory Workers (New York Times)