Mueller flips Russian spy linked to the NRA

Maria Butina reaches plea deal with prosecutors. No Images? Click here   By Paul Vale     Tuesday, December 11 RUSSIAN-NRA SPY FLIPS Maria Butina, the alleged Russian agent and gun-rights promoter, has reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors. The 30-year-old was charged in July with illegally acting as an agent of the Russian Federation, using her close ties to the National Rifle Association and conservative operatives to wage a covert influence campaign. She allegedly tried to broker a secret meeting between Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin during the 2016 presidential campaign. [HuffPost] [Tweet | Share on Facebook] SCOTUS REJECTS PLANNED PARENTHOOD CASE The Supreme Court, with three dissenting justices, ducked a high-profile case by rejecting appeals from Kansas and Louisiana in their effort to strip Medicaid money from Planned Parenthood. The court’s reluctance to take up new cases on volatile social issues is putting it on a collision course with Trump, whose Justice Department is trying to rush such disputes through the appeals system to get them before the nine justices as quickly as possible. [HuffPost] TEA PARTIERS COURTED FOR CHIEF OF STAFF Office of Management and Budget director Mick Mulvaney and Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., who chairs the conservative House Freedom Caucus, are in the running to be Trump’s new chief of staff. There is one well-known but unorthodox candidate who may be willing to consider the job: actor Jon Voight. [HuffPost] TRUMP WORRIED HE COULD BE IMPEACHED Trump has expressed concern that he could be impeached when Democrats take over the House, a source close to the president told CNN. [CNN] MACRON OFFERS ‘YELLOW VESTS’ CONCESSIONS French President Emmanuel Macron has promised a minimum wage increase and tax concessions in response to weeks of violent protests. [BBC] CHINESE COURT BANS IPHONES A Chinese court has banned the sale and import of most iPhone models in a stunning decision amid the trade war between the United States and China. [CNN]       BIGOT BUMPED FROM BLAZE Gavin McInnes, the founder of the neo-fascist Proud Boys, was fired from Blaze Media, and his YouTube account was disabled. [HuffPost] EUROPEAN COURT: BRITAIN CAN CANCEL BREXIT The European Court of Justice has ruled that the U.K. can decide on its own to revoke its withdrawal from the European Union. However, Prime Minister Theresa May pulled a vote on her Brexit deal, throwing the U.K.’s plan to leave the EU into chaos after she admitted she did not have the votes to get it through Parliament. [HuffPost] POLICE PROBE BABY-PRY VIDEO The New York Police Department is investigating a video shared on Facebook that shows officers yanking a 1-year-old baby from his mother’s arms at a government assistance center. [HuffPost] ZINKE HIRES LOYALIST FOR PROTECTION Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has put political appointee Daniel Jorjani in charge of overseeing all public information requests sent to the agency. Jorjani once told Interior colleagues that their job is ultimately to protect Zinke from ethics probes and bad press. [HuffPost] WHITE HOUSE SPENT MILLIONS ON 2 BORDER AGENTS The Trump administration paid an astonishing $13.6 million to a private company this year to increase border protection staffing by just two agents, according to a scathing report by a federal watchdog that called for “immediate” action to rectify “serious performance issues.” [HuffPost] FORMER SENATORS WARN: DON’T BLOW IT A bipartisan group of 44 former senators released a forceful editorial urging current members of the chamber to protect the “rule of law” and “be steadfast guardians of our democracy” as Robert Mueller wraps up his investigation surrounding the 2016 presidential election. [HuffPost]       Transgender boxer Patricio Manuel won his first fight against another man. Nearly 150 protesters were arrested outside the Washington offices of Reps. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) during a climate demonstration. Gossip is often maligned. But it’s an important part of social cooperation and information sharing. A fatal brain infection reportedly took the life a Seattle woman, who doctors believe improperly used a neti pot. A new movie coming to Netflix this week has Oscar buzz. A Virginia high school teacher who refused to use a transgender student’s new pronouns has been fired for insubordination, according to the school system. Cockroaches are becoming big business in China. Scientists are getting closer to understanding the tsunami that struck Palu in Indonesia in September. The Sulawesi city’s bay showed significant subsidence of the seabed. Jake Gyllenhaal will reportedly star in the remake of Denmark’s Oscar nominee “The Guilty.” The Mooch is still bitter over being fired by John Kelly. These are the three things that make Bryan Cranston “mad as hell” in the Trump era. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is considering having “a bunch of huge celebs, something ‘SNL’ style, and buzzy people to throw to commercial” after Kevin Hart was dropped as host last week. Sarah Hyland revealed she has undergone a second kidney transplant after her body began rejecting the kidney her father donated to her in 2012. Trump’s “smocking gun” tweet prompted a lot of responses. This guest writer drove drunk and it cost six people their lives. Here’s how his own life changed forever. Love this newsletter? Share it with a friend!      HuffPost is now a part of Oath and a part of Verizon. On May 25, 2018 we introduced a new Oath Privacy Policy which will explain how your data is used and shared. Learn More. 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